Just One Yesterday
by imsuchanut
Summary: Clara wants to know about the Doctor's past, and decides to explore. But when she finds his old bedroom and mementos of a blonde-haired special someone, she resolves to end centuries of pain, and enlists the help of some old friends. Meanwhile, things are getting strange in Pete's world, as the Doctor's old secret threatens Rose. DoctorxRose.
1. Chapter 1

_But I'd trade all my tomorrows_

_For just one yesterday_

_Just One Yesterday_, Fall Out Boy

He said she wouldn't be competing with a ghost.

He wasn't lying.

Because really, there wasn't any competition. Rose owned his hearts, his mind, his soul. There was no room for anyone to truly take over. And no one could ever be a replacement for her, just look at what happened with Martha when she tried. No, Clara wasn't competing with a ghost. She lost against a memory.

Clara she was a pretty nice person. She was kind, not overly harsh, and friendly. But that was not to say she was a people person. She didn't seem to notice when to stop. Because when Clara kept prodding the Doctor over and over again about his past, she didn't see the pain in his eyes or the tears, the slight shake in his voice, or his stiff body language. Clara just kept asking about his planet, then his family, old companions, and then finally she reached the subject. THE subject.

"Well have you ever been married at least? You're an only child, your parents died, and you aren't friends with anyone from your own planet. Come on, there's got to be someone that you were close to."

"Well of course I've been married, I'm over a thousand years old. Lots of strange planets and customs, had to marry someone real quick for legal matters or to get out of a sticky spot," he replied, his voice steelier than before.

"That's not what I mean Doctor."

"Look, Clara, the Time Rotor really needs to be rewired along with the electromagnetic flux capacitator. You want to be stuck in the vortex for a month? Didn't think so. So shut your mouth and let me finish." She flinched at his outburst, and walked out of the control room. The Doctor sighed, feeling the pain of memories past wash over him.

Clara didn't get along with the TARDIS, and she didn't really know where anything was in the ship but the Console Room and her bedroom. So instead of asking for help in finding someplace to entertain her, she wandered around aimlessly, kicking the sides of the walls and mumbling under her breath when the TARDIS changed the corridors on her. Finally, the TARDIS had enough. _She wants to no more? Fine. It will just be a bit more than she asked for. _Suddenly, all the doors vanished, and Clara stood in front of a solid wall with a dusty door in the middle of it. It had the same type of designs as the ones in the Console Room, she noted, and with a slight hesitancy, she opened the door.

It creaked loudly, and Clara jumped, afraid the Doctor was going to pop up right behind her and tell her not to make any more noise. She looked around the hallway for him, and went in.

Clara was not prepared for this. It looked to be bedroom, but it was dark and cold, and reminded her of that ghost mansion. The eerie feeling of lost souls and trespassing was not lost on her. _What's a room like this doing on the TARDIS? I thought he said the TARDIS deleted most of the rooms. _She felt the wall for a light switch, and gasped when she turned it on.

Clara was right about it being a bedroom, but she was not expecting a huge master suite, that looked like it had been untouched for years. There was no dust, but everything felt old and unused. It strangely looked as if it was left in a hurry, the occupant planning to come back, but never did. Clara gulped, _did this person die? Is that why he was so upset?_ She looked a bit closer, and realized that it was a couple's room. There were two sets of clothes in the dresser (and strewn all over the floor), a woman's who looked to be from her time, and a man's who wore pinstripes and converse by the looks of it. On the dressing table, there were bunches of photos of a beautiful, blonde woman and the striped man in pinstripes. They were smiling at each other, and looked intensely devoted to one another, in exotic locations that Clara knew could not be earth. _Blimey, didn't think the Doctor would be the type to put up with two lovebirds. Speaking of the Doctor_…she looked through all the pictures, but oddly couldn't find any of him.

She searched the room some more, and ended up feeling like she had trespassed on some romantic affair. Detailed, amazing hand-drawn images of the sleeping blonde woman littered random surfaces, as well beautiful poetry labeled _To My Darling Rose_. _So her name was Rose then. That explains a lot, maybe why he freaked out when I asked to look at the roses at some flower booth on Mars._ There were also the same designs from the Console Room everywhere, on the walls, on books, and on random pieces of paper. Clara searched for more clues as to whom the room belonged to and slowly approached the bed, not daring to touch it. It was large, the same color sheets as the TARDIS, and looked as if its occupants had just come from it, clothes scattered next to the bed and all. But there was nothing to help her, no diaries under the pillows. She wondered if this maybe was his parents room, after all, they had died, and the pair from the room was no longer around. But she quickly scratched the thought, surely there would've been pictures of the Doctor then, and neither of the room's owners looked anything like him.

Suddenly, Clara heard footsteps in the distance. The room seemed to be in some spell, so, unwilling to be caught in the room, she closed the door, turned off the lights, and under an arm chair in the shadows. Strangely, the armchair faced the bed, and unlike the rest of the room, seemed as if it had been used recently. She heard the Doctor enter, and scooted back further as to not be discovered.

She was expecting him to call out, say that he knew she was there, but it never came. Instead, Clara heard the telltale sniffling of someone about to cry, and then a loud thud, as if he had just fell to the ground.

"She was asking if I had been married. I wonder what she'd say if she found out it was so much more than that. We were Bonded, never meant to be separated. It hurts so much to talk about you, and it's been a hundred years. I miss you every day that passes, and unlike others whom I've parted from, the pain from being separated from you never lessens.

I once said the one thing I believed in was you. I don't know if I do anymore. Because no matter how much I try, how much I pray to every deity out there, you never come back to me. What's the point of believing then?

I know we always joked about how old I was when I met you. Thing is though, I'm an even older man now. Now though, I really do feel it. My senses are dulled, I'm sore, rash, and I'm a widower. But all of those are side effects from losing you. I try to pretend, but really the only thing keeping me living is the small hope that you might return.

I'm aware it's impossible. No one knows that more than me. But that's just who we are. You were the Bad Wolf, you had all the power of the Time Vortex. Who knows what you could've done? I know now your biology was slowly being rewritten, and I never should've left you with him. He would've died long before you, but there's no way I can go back. That's what hurts the most; the fact that I can't even console myself with knowing that you're happy." The painful speech had brought tears to Clara's eyes, but at that last line she let out a sob. The Doctor let out a growl, jumped up, and turn on the lights.

"I know you're here Clara," he practically spat, and it scared her. She had never seen him like this before, and afraid of what he might do if he had to find her himself, she got out from underneath the armchair. He turned to face her, and slowly and quietly he said, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing in here?"

"I'm so, so sorry, I just wanted to know something about your past, and the TARDIS brought me here, and I'm not quite sure what this couple has to do with it but I'm so very sorry about the girl you lost!" The Doctor sighed, and realized he had been scaring her. He had been harsh, and now he felt bad.

"I'm sorry for snapping earlier. It's just, my past is a very touchy subject, for obvious reasons. But I'm going to talk about it now. This is probably your only chance, so if you want your questions answered, ask them now." She stared at him for a moment, not sure if he was joking, before blurting out the question that had been bothering her when she first entered the room.

"Why's this here? I thought the TARDIS deleted all the old rooms, that's why I wasn't going to be able to find old companions' stuff." She stared at her, before chuckling dryly.

"Well I thought it would be obvious that she wouldn't delete my room."

"Wait…this is your room? But it's not been used, and it belongs to the man in pinstripes!"

"Time Lords have this thing, it's called regeneration. When we're about to die, we change literally every cell in our body, and get a new body, but the same mind. When I used this room, I was in a different regeneration."

"That's…handy. So this woman, Rose. She was the one you were talking about, I figure? Was she a Time Lord too?"

"Unfortunately, no. She was a human. Well, mostly, I'm not sure what she might be now, there was a bit of an incident. But we didn't know any better, and that's one of the reasons we spent so much time waiting to get together. I didn't want the pain from when she would inevitable die in her short human life."

"That's really sad. What's the bonding thing you mentioned?"

"Basically we melded our minds together. Something similar isn't uncommon for telepathic races, but it's a bit different for Gallifreyans. The Gallifreyans of old sometimes did it, but Time Lords basically frowned upon it. We didn't really act on emotions, and bonding was an intensely intimate process, one that required love and devotion of the highest degree from both parties. Once bonded, you can't bear to be apart for too long, can't be with another, and you can't break the bond. It'll make you go insane."

"But…you're apart from Rose. Doesn't that affect you? Or her, if she's just human?"

"Rose and I are under…special circumstances. Besides, we I put some mental barriers up in her mind to protect her should we ever be separated, and the TARDIS calms our bond."

"Why can't you get her? Doctor, what happened?" The Doctor stared at the ground sadly, and proceeded to tell her the saddest story she had ever heard in her life (the Doctor had taken out all the embarrassing and private parts, because their whole story was not meant to be shared, it was theirs alone). It was heartbreaking, but beautiful at the same time, and both were in tears by the end.

"I'm so sorry Doctor, no one deserves that. I don't know how you do it, carrying on like you do."

"Oh, Clara. I do it for her. It's awful, and I want to give up so very often, but there's still a beacon of hope. I've survived so much, and in the end it's always all right. It has to happen this time to."

"But what if it doesn't, Doctor?"

"It has to. I will do anything short of destroying to multiverses if I have to. I need her back so badly, it's making me sick. I will give up every day I will ever have if I need to, if it means getting just one day with her." There was really nothing to be said after that, so the Doctor suggested that it was time for bed.

"Where do you sleep? Because it's obvious no one uses this room since she…had to leave."

"Well unlike you humans, I don't need that much sleep, just a couple hours a week. Sometimes I use the armchair, others I just have the TARDIS make one temporarily or I fall asleep where I am. And this room is used, it's for remembering." Clara turned and left, resolving despite the fact that she was a mere twenty-first century human to find a way for the Doctor to get back to his Rose. She had always wanted to lay into Shakespeare for killing off Romeo and Juliet! And now, she was playing author. This was going to be hard work, but in the end, it was going to be worth it and well deserved.

**Thank you so much for reading! I don't know whether I should continue this or not, because it could really be left as a one shot or turned into a nice reunion fic. Lemme know what you think and drop me a review please! Or just drop me a review about the story in general, that's totally awesome too. Reviewing really does mean a lot and inspires authors to keep writing! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! I decided to continue this fic. It probably won't get updated regularly, but I promise it will get done before the end of summer. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and convinced me to continue this, shoutouts to Nicolive, WingsStarsandSky, Die Facing Our Foes, Beau2809, Donna Tempus, JollyRoger1, NicNack4U, ShipsCollide, Skyler-Reese, C.W, bookworm9801, Niafadra, and the three guest reviewers. You guys are the bomb, and please, and feel free to review again? Pretty please?**

**I'm really sorry for not update this sooner, but as you can see from the first chapter, this isn't really light-hearted like most of my other fics (feel free to check em out). It's a little more serious, and serious isn't my forte. So, if there's any constructive criticism/comments you have, I'd love to hear it!**

The TARDIS faded away, taking away Rose's dreams with it. She wanted to kick and scream and cry, all at the same time. He couldn't do this to her, not now, not after _everything_ she went through to get back to him. And he left her with _him_. She didn't even know how she felt about him. Part of her wanted to hate his very existence, because he represented all she could never have, all that she lost. But the other part was in love with him like she loved-_loves_, she corrected herself, the original. And he could say the words.

Rose sighed. She knew why the Doctor couldn't. The first time on this beach was a miscalculation on his part. They simply ran out of time. How ironic for a Time Lord. But now, he had to let Rose know how he felt without actually saying the words. They both knew that if he had, she never would've stayed with her family. She gladly would've left them again to stay with him, but he wouldn't let that happen. But she got a consolation prize: his clone.

But a copy wasn't the same as the original, no matter how good the copy was. After all, it was still just a copy. And the fact that _he_ was able to say the words just proved how different the two versions were. She loved her Doctor, and all of his flaws. Despite the fact that he was often guarded, he loved her, and she helped him through all of the pain. This imposter of sorts never had to experience the loss the Doctor did. Sure, he had the memories, but they weren't his. They were someone else's.

They were the Doctor's.

Rose's Doctor.

_Stop it,_ she thought. _You're moping when you should be counting your blessings. You may have lost the Doctor, but that wasn't the worst that could happen. You got someone who could age with you, you can stay with your family, and you got the Doctor. Sort of. You could've died, you could've never seen your family again, hell, the whole of creation could've ended! Be grateful._

Rose resigned herself to making the best of what life gave her. So, maybe she wasn't given lemons, it wasn't that bad. Life gave her something less bitter, oranges, and she was going to make some damn good orange juice.

Five years later, Rose fell out of bed at the sound of her alarm clock. It was accompanied by a deep chuckle, and Rose turned to glare at her husband from the floor. "It's not funny!"

That only earned her more laughs. "On the contrary, it's hilarious. You actually _fell_ out of bed!" Her husband rolled over to her side of the bed so that his face was looming over hers.

"Yeah, and if you keep laughing I won't be jumping back into it with you any time soon," she muttered under her breath. Despite the fact that he was now half-human, he still had enhanced senses thanks to his Gallifreyan heritage. Therefore, he heard Rose very clearly.

"Oh, is that so? Rose Tyler, you can't keep your hands off of me!"

Rose stood up so that now she was at a higher angle than him, but the bed was rather high up and she wasn't the tallest so the overall effect was diminished. "Excuse me? I believe you were the one who started this whole handsy-oi, don't give me that look, relationship. You grabbed my hand first!"

John chuckled. "Yeah, and once I'd given you a taste, you just couldn't get enough."

"Actually, I think you're the one who just can't resist me," she replied.

"Well, that's up for debate-" he was cut off by the piercing noise of the alarm again. "We've got to get ready! Big day you know." Today was going to be huge. Apparently there had been some massive energy flare somewhere in southern Asia, and Torchwood was going on a research mission to investigate. Normally it would be a combination of scientists and field agents, but as there was no known alien presence at the site, all the agents would be scientists and researchers. The agents going on the mission would be chosen today, and Rose was sure John was going to be one of them. If chosen, this would be a great opportunity for him to discover more about this universe's energy flows, and they needed to find a fuel source for their TARDIS. Donna had given them a coral chunk that day on the beach, but they needed something to give it power. This surge in Asia could be exactly what they needed.

But Rose was getting ahead of herself. She had been so excited, and combined with her recent nightmares, she had barely slept. She needed to focus on the present, which she was brought back to when she walked into a door. "You alright, love?" she heard John call from the kitchen, where she made her way to.

John handed her a mug of coffee, and went to work making pancakes. It was times like these that Rose loved. These domestic, blissful moments that they rarely had on the TARDIS were now in abundance. It just showed how much things had changed.

And things really _had_ changed. The Doctor went domestic and married Rose, he attempted to be polite to Jackie, and he stayed put in one place. Well, they did travel an awful lot and work for Torchwood, but that was to be expected. Overall, life was much different now, and Rose could see it every time she looked at John.

The previously Mr.-Superior-Biology was aging. Not by much, mind you, he was still as handsome as ever, but there were a few grey hairs and deeper wrinkles around his eyes. If Rose had to guess, she'd say he looked around forty. Technically though, he was only five. It was definitely weird to think of herself as older than the ancient Doctor. She certainly didn't look older than him. Rose hadn't aged a day since her days travelling on the TARDIS; looking as if she was still in her early twenties. She tried to change her wardrobe and makeup to look older, because she was tired of people making rash assumptions of her and John every time they went out.

"You alright, Rose? You seem a bit off this morning." John gave her a concerned look and a stack of pancakes. Another different thing: he could _cook_. Yes, Rose was as surprised as anyone else when she found out he had been taking secret cooking lessons to impress her.

"Yeah, I was just having a bad dream this morning, and the clock scared me. I guess I'm still just caught up in my thoughts." John put the pan in the sink and sat down next to her.

"What was it about?"

"I was in this pod, it was made of some material that I knew was there, but I couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel anything, really. But I could see my entire life, but I wasn't there. It was like…a show on the telly. Where I was watching everything, but I wasn't actually in it." John frowned and took a sip of tea.

"So, like an out of body experience?" Rose's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how to explain her dream.

"Not exactly, because it wasn't like a was looking over my body or something. It's as if someone was stealing my place, and I had to watch it happen from this pod, where my actual body was, but I couldn't do anything about it." John's brow crinkled further, and Rose looked down at her pancakes. Suddenly, she didn't feel too hungry.

"That's definitely strange. It doesn't even sound like a proper dream, more like a memory, or a warning of some type." Rose's head shot up.

"What, you think someone's out to get me?"

"Well, I don't know, maybe you feel like someone's taken over your life, or you have no control? Or that you feel like that's going to happen." Rose took another sip of coffee, feeling the heat run through her, grateful that she could feel it, unlike that dream in the pod.

"What's that other option?" John took a deep breath, and Rose started to feel a bit scared.

"Well, it could be a memory. But I doubt that, because I'm pretty sure that didn't happen. Unless there's something you're not telling me?"

Rose shook her head. "No, I'm not hiding anything, and that definitely didn't happen. I think we're just being a bit silly; it was probably just a stupid dream from all the stress lately. I really hope that thing in Asia will be what we need, whatever it is." John made a face, and Rose knew she wouldn't like what was coming.

"Look, I want this to be the right type of fuel for the TARDIS just as much as you. I love you, and I love this life we have here, but of _course_ I want to go off travelling. I'm happy here, but I do miss that. Despite that, I don't want you to get your hopes up. From the preliminary studies done on the energy spike, there isn't a very high chance that we could use this stuff."

Rose's shoulders dropped. "But there's still a chance, right?" John sighed, she was always so optimistic. She never failed to comfort him, her very presence made him feel better. Rose truly was the light in his life. But sometimes that optimist wasn't the best.

"Yes, but it's not very high. But even if this won't work, there's still plenty of options out there, we've still got loads of things to try. The TARDIS will work eventually, don't you worry." He stood up and collected their plates, throwing out half of the uneaten pancakes on Rose's plate.

"I know, I don't have any doubt in that," she replied as she collected their mugs.

"I just don't want you to put all your eggs in one basket, that's all I'm saying." John gave her a kiss, and then took her hand as they walked to their bedroom to get dressed. Even after three years, their morning routine never bored her.

"I promise I won't. Now, let's think of something a bit happier, yeah?" Rose stopped outside the door to their room, halting John by their connected hands. In turn, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

"What did you have in mind?" His wife gave him her signature smile, with her tongue in between her teeth.

"Well, we've still got a bit of time before we _actually_ have to get ready."

Later that day, Rose was working on paperwork when her office door flew open. A skinny, pinstriped, wild-haired man came flying through, and Rose could see the heads of other people in the office watching this strange sight through the doorway.

"John, what're you-" she was cut off by her husband, who had a manic gleam in his eye that scared her a bit.

"Rose! Rose, Rose, Rose I got the mission, I'm going to Asia! This is so exciting!" Rose laughed and gave him the look that said 'calm yourself a bit, you're causing a scene'.

"That's great, John, I knew you would be chosen! You're the head of science and research, after all."

"Well, I didn't expect this! I am amazing, but the probability of my getting to go was very low, especially after that last mission when we got caught by your dad in the middle of the mission. Probably wasn't my best idea, but I didn't get killed for that!"

"Well, let's be sure not to do that again."

"It's a pity, that was rather fun. But this means your dad has forgiven me for that whole thing. And even better, this is going to be such a good trip, this energy is a fascinating specimen."

"I'm really happy for you, you know."

"I know, and I'm sure we can _celebrate_ later. But I've got to get back now, because I kind of ran out to tell you, and I'm sure they want me back."

Rose giggled at the thought of John dashing out like an excited six year old. "Right, that's probably best. Just don't ramble off and annoy them!" John gave her a long kiss before leaving.

"Do I ever do that?" he called out as he walked down the hallway, and Rose watched as curious coworkers disappeared back into their office. They really weren't that discreet.

Rose sat back down at her desk, feeling slightly giddy. This opportunity was what she had been waiting for! Yes, John told her the chances weren't that great, but it was still a chance. And just like the Doctor, Rose had wanderlust, and she was eager to get back out among the stars. The universe was so huge and just waiting to be explored.

Rose looked down to resume her paperwork, when she discovered she couldn't move her hand. She tried again, but it still wouldn't move. Rose flexed her left hand, and discovered it was still working. That was when she started to feel weak, but ignored it. She used her left hand to try and grab her right, but the texture made her recoil. Her hand felt soft, and almost squishy. Rose's head began to pound, and the world was starting to blur. Right before everything faded to black, her right hand melted.

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Pretty pretty please review! It would make my Friday. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Voila! Chapter three! I'm pretty proud of myself for getting off my lazy butt and updating.**

**I'm sorry if this gets a little confusing, so lemme know if you have any questions.**

**PS: Guest reviewers, attention please! Some of you guys are awesome and I wanna reply to your reviews, and I love to thank everyone, so if you have an account, please sign in! I can't reply otherwise, which sucks.**

**I promise it's not all angsty!**

They saved the world today. Again.

But this time, the adventure was a bit different. A rebel group was trying to take over a planet. Simple, right? Just stop them and save the government, fool around with the sonic, and make some snarky comment. Wrong.

The planet was called Psylocke, and the species inhabiting it was telepathic. They looked just like humans, but they could only communicate telepathically, and only with other telepathic beings. The rebel group in question had acquired some technology to enhance their abilities, and were breaking down mental barriers and invading citizens' minds to take over. The group, called the Hellfire, forced people to work for their cause. They enslaved them, controlling their minds until it was near impossible to tell who was actually part of the Hellfire and who was a slave.

The Doctor planned to sneak in, shut off the technology, round up members of the Hellfire and turn them over to the Judoon. Except, well, nothing ever goes to plan with him.

His landing was a bit off and the TARDIS ended up right in the middle of the Hellfire base. Not exactly inconspicuous. The Doctor and Clara had therefore been apprehended immediately after exiting the TARDIS. The guards knocked them out, and the next thing Clara knew was a pain in the back of her head as she woke up in a cell. Clara looked around, and saw the Doctor chained up next to her on a wall, unconscious. She also noticed a strange metal device in the center of the room. "Doctor," she whispered and nudged him. "Doctor, wake up!"

He blinked a few times before lifting his head and groaning in pain. "Wazgoinoh…oh," he paused, noticing the device in the room. He remembered his history, and if he was right, this thing wasn't going to be pretty. "Clara, you can't let them find out what you are. They've probably been able to figure me out already. When I start screaming, you start. Scream as if you're in agony, like your mind's being pulled apart." His voice grew shaky toward the end, making their prospects look bleak.

"Why? Doctor, what's happening?"

He took a deep breath. "They're going to pull my mind apart."

After all she had seen, Clara wasn't ready to believe this. "What? Can they actually do that?"

The Doctor elbowed her sharply. "Lower your voice. Yes, they can do that, well, sort of. I'm a Time Lord, not one of them, so they can't actually enslave me. You're human, so you'll be fine. Just act as if it worked."

"Like what worked?"

"Like you're becoming enslaved. Don't worry, it's not going to actually happen. But that machine is what's controlling the people. Unfortunately, I can't shut it down from here, and I can't just walk over there," he said, holding up his cuffed wrists.

"So, what're we gonna do?"

"Well, I can't do anything. Today's your day to shine, Clara! When I mention…bananas, yes, let's do bananas. When I mention bananas, grab the screwdriver out of my pocket. Be very careful that they don't notice you. Use setting 54-A and unlock your cuffs, then 1336-F to shut down the machine. Only undo me once you've finished."

"54-A and 1336-F. Got it. Are you sure we can do this?"

The Doctor gave her the most encouraging smile he could whilst in his position. "Clara, I have complete faith in you. Everything will be fine."

If Clara had to describe how things went, she would not use the word "fine". Heartbreaking was more like it.

The Doctor was telepathic, and whilst he was Time Lord and the machine couldn't be used to enslave him, it could bring pain. Immense pain. The machine allowed the Hellfire to attack his mental barriers, and while they stood, they cracked.

This wouldn't have been so bad back in his ninth regeneration. If the mental barriers came down, it would've crushed the minds of the Hellfire with his massive Time Lord intellect. They also would've felt the pain of the Time War and the burning of Gallifrey. So really, no harm done.

But this was the eleventh. This was a man who, in his tenth, had met, fallen in love with, and bonded with Rose Tyler. This was a man who loved her with every ounce of his being, but who didn't have her anymore. This was a man who saved her and gave her the life she deserved, whilst succumbing himself to a lifetime of pain.

This Doctor had done something terrible in his past. Something that Rose Tyler hadn't known he'd done. How could she, when it happened to her?

But Clara didn't know all this. All she knew was that the Doctor was screaming in agony, and it didn't look like it would stop. He kept repeating a name, _her_ name.

_Rose Tyler. _

Clara had thought he was reliving losing her. After all, that night when she found their room, she realized just how broken he was; but then he started screaming something else.

"_Stop it_! You have to stop, it's only hurting Rose! _Please_, I can't keep holding them up! I don't care about _me_, you have to stop, it's going to destroy _her_!" Over and over again, he pleaded for them to stop for Rose's sake.

Clara was confused. _How was this hurting Rose? She's not even in this universe._ But she was pulled out of her musings (and fake screaming in pain) but the Doctor finally yelling 'banana'. That moment couldn't have arrived any slower.

Clara did as he instructed, and before she knew it they were running for their lives. Right as they reached the edge of the Hellfire base, she saw massive aliens with rhino heads approaching. "Doctor, what are those?" She didn't think she could deal with any more unfriendly aliens today.

"Judoon, basically space police. Haven't exactly got the best history with them, but they'll sort it out! Time to go!" And so they ran back to the TARDIS, and collapsed against the door once they were inside. Before she had even caught her breath, the Doctor jumped up and disappeared into the depths of the TARDIS.

After taking a few minutes to recuperate, Clara went to her own room. A nice, hot shower was required. Letting the hot water soothe her aching body, she thought about the day's events. _What was hurting Rose? It didn't seem like he was reliving something, the Doctor looked like he thought she was actually in danger. So what was going on?_

After putting on clean pajamas, she decided to go find him. Clara searched the Console Room, the Library, and the pool before finally giving in and asking the TARDIS for help. The lights brightened, and a hallway appeared. Clara turned down it and saw a familiar door. _Of course_ he would be here. _How did I not think of his and Rose's old room?_

Clara knocked softly, and heard a very weary 'come in'. She entered and saw the Doctor sitting in his armchair, staring at an old photograph. "She would've liked you. Rose loves everyone, she's always nice. Even to Daleks." He sighed deeply, and Clara regretted coming when he was so obviously in pain. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Yes, um, I mean you don't have to if you don't want to, but I was wondering what happened today."

The Doctor put on his fake smile. "You, Clara, saved the day! Shut down that machine, and then we legged it out of there!"

Clara gave him a look. _Was he always this difficult with Rose? _"That's not what I meant. What did you mean, about them hurting Rose? She's not here, and they were torturing _you_."

The Doctor ran a hand halfway through his hair then stopped, realizing he was repeating his old regeneration's habit. "Do you remember what I told you last time you were in here? About me and Rose being bonded?"

"Yeah, that your minds were connected, and the TARDIS stopped it."

The Doctor made a face. "She doesn't exactly stop it, no one can. The TARDIS just…meddles a bit. You see, Rose isn't Gallifreyan, she's human. And a very jeopardy-friendly one at that."

"Does that mean she can't feel it?"

The Doctor quickly shook his head. "No, she felt it alright. Rose and I had a very strong bond. We were together all the time, and touched a lot-"

"Don't need to know that!"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "No, not like that! Well, yeah, but that's not what I meant! Rose and I were very tactile. We were always holding hands, or hugging or something. It made us feel safe."

"So, what happened?"

The Doctor made a face, bracing himself for what was coming. "I…put in a failsafe, of sorts. A bond can never be broken, we knew this. But something could happen to Rose, and after an incident when we were separated on an impossible planet, I…implemented it. When she was sleeping, I put up some blocks in her mind."

"So, you basically invaded her mind without her knowing?"

The Doctor cringed under the Clara's furious gaze. "I did it for her safety! And besides, I didn't look at anything! Well, at least anything I didn't already know. But we're getting off track. These weren't the normal kind of blocks. I'm Gallifreyan, so I can handle pressure on the bond. Rose can't. In the case that we were ever separated she wouldn't be hurt."

Clara crinkled her brow. "How?"

"I…I made it so that, if we were ever separated by a long distance, she wouldn't remember the bond. The blocks, once activated, would block all memories of the bonding, including the bond itself. I blocked it on my end, too, so that I couldn't project out to her. The TARDIS eases the mental pain for me, so that I don't suffer."

"I thought you couldn't stop the bond?"

"You can't. The bond is still there, and always will be. It's just…not really available. Rose would still have it and her memories, but it would cause her a great deal of pain on her own to get it back. But she can't remember it, so there's no danger of that. Rose would need the TARDIS and me."

"So what went on today?"

"The Hellfire was attacking my mental blocks, including the one on my link with her. It didn't fall, thank Rassilon, but it cracked." Noticing the look on her face, he added, "This means that things might be…difficult on her end right now. She was probably feeling something, and it would've been causing pain. Not too much, it was only a few hairline cracks, which I fixed up. But time works differently in that universe."

"What would that do, then?"

"Well, she might've had a few nightmares the past couple weeks, headaches, or been feeling really tired. Or, she might've just felt a flash of pain, and everything would be over in a second."

"How do you know which is which?"

"I don't. She's stuck with the other me, remember?" The Doctor gave her a wry smile. "Now, off you go to bed. Humans need their sleep, and I'm sure we've got an exciting day tomorrow." The Doctor noticed the look on her face. "I'm fine, Clara. Rose is fine. The cracks weren't that big, nothing got through, everything is back to normal now. We good? Nighty night."

Clara returned to her room, but she could not sleep that night. She had the strangest feeling that something had happened, something big. The Doctor didn't seem to realize it, but then again, he was suffering. The Doctor had obviously been in love with Rose in a way that humans just…weren't. It was an alien sort of devotion that she could never understand. A bond like that had to be powerful, and those cracks couldn't just be that harmless.

Rose Tyler found herself in a grey pod. She couldn't feel anything around her, couldn't smell, couldn't hear anything. _Where am I? Where's John?_ She looked down to see that hand that she swore had…melted…completely intact. As suddenly as she had awoken, Rose was hit by wave after wave of pain.

It didn't stop, it felt as if she was being pulled apart. Weirdly, she felt like she was missing something, something huge. And she would've bet her life she could hear the Doctor's voice in her mind.

Wait a minute, the Doctor didn't sound like that.

_It couldn't have been the Doctor. He's…not here. He can't be! And he doesn't sound like that. He sounds like John. So how would I know that's the Doctor?_

_John_…Rose looked down at her left hand, to see it without a ring. There wasn't even a line to show it had ever been there.

_This isn't real. This has to be a dream. _

The pain stopped, and the world faded again.

Rose Tyler woke up this time to bright lights. "You're awake!" cried a man. Rose looked over to see her husband sitting in a chair. _Great, I'm in a hospital._

"John, what happened to me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, a sure sign that he was lying, but a concerned look was on his face. "Rose, love, you fainted. Must've been all the stress. I promise, we'll find a fuel for the TARDIS. Everything will be fine."

"Who's voice was that?"

John looked worried. "What voice, love? It was just me in here."

"The one I heard in my head."

John turned as white as the hospital sheets.

**A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing, and pretty pretty please review!**

**Come on, press that button.**

**You know you wanna.**

**Please?**

**PS: Anyone catch the comic reference? I'm so clever…not.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Welcome to chapter four, my lovely readers!**

**BIG shoutout to the reviewers from the previous chapter, who are kickbutt awesome: JollyRoger1, Annie, iTorchic, greeneyesCutie, seablue4u, Godric'sGurl01, Luh13, Nikki Pond, and all the guest reviewers. I can't thank you guys enough!**

**Finally, thanks to Luh13 for agreeing to be my beta. Lord knows I've wanted one, but I couldn't find one, so thank you so much! This chapter is so much better because of her.**

**Dedicated to TenRose4ever.**

"Rose," John started gently, not wanting to get her worked up. "Rose, darling, that was just a dream." As he spoke he inwardly cringed, hating himself for lying to her. _Still_, he told himself, _this is for the best_. _A few lies now will protect her in the long run._

"But John, that can't have been a dream!" Her eyes were wide and frantic, so he took her left hand, stroking it and toying with the rings, something he always did when he wanted to soothe her.

"Darling, it was. I know things have been tense lately, and your subconscious was probably reacting to that."

Rose made a face. "No, this just didn't feel like a dream! Come on, John. After everything we've seen and done, you have to believe me."

Her husband sighed. "If you feel this strongly about it, then I believe you. Always have, always will." He remembered briefly of when he first realized that she would always be the only thing in which he believed, when he was in that pit facing the Beast. He gave her a smile and kissed the hand he was still holding.

That was them. Before and after everything, no matter the time, they would always be found holding hands. It linked them together, gave a sense of comfort, and provided solidity. "So, tell me what happened then?"

Rose took a deep breath and recanted her tale. However, she left out the part about her hand in the office. John would definitely think there was something wrong with her, because her hand melting was absolutely impossible. It reminded her of Mickey being melted with the Nestene Consciousness, and brought back memories of her first Doctor, his Ninth regeneration, as she came to know later. That first day started it all and she subconsciously tightened her grip on John's hand. "So, that's what I saw. Well, I guess saw wouldn't exactly be the right word, but you know what I mean. What do you think?"

She looked up to see John frowning, and staring at something she couldn't see. "Hmm? Well, I don't really know what it is. I can't think of anything at all that would match what you're describing. I'll look into it though, alright love?" He bent over and kissed her. "Let me know if you have any of those strange dreams again."

_Dreams,_she thought, _it was not a dream!_However, she didn't argue with him.

"Of course. So, when can I get out of here?"

"Well the doctors were waiting for you to wake up, so I'll go fetch a nurse!" John jumped up and exited. Once out of the room, he slid to his knees against the door. _After all this time, why would it happen now? We're happy, I can't lose her now. She's not going to die, but what can I do? This can't happen again._

There was also the question of Asia to be considered. If they wanted their own TARDIS to work, they needed a fuel source. The energy in Asia, though unlikely, might be what they needed. Rose wanted to travel just as badly as him, and he couldn't miss this opportunity. But he couldn't just leave Rose, not knowing what was going on with her. He needed someone to watch her, someone with no problem telling everything to him, but he couldn't make it look like Rose was getting a babysitter. She wouldn't take too kindly to that. And a mad Tyler woman wasn't exactly what he needed. He wasn't going to have some random Torchwood operative do that. No, he needed someone on the inside, someone who wouldn't tell Torchwood what was happening to Rose.

That left only one option.

John pulled out his mobile and called, running his hands through his hair nervously. "Jackie? I need your help…yes, you heard me right."

When she had first learnt about Rose Tyler, that sad night in the couple's old bedroom, Clara made a decision. She was going to do something, and she was going to save them. Both the Doctor and Rose. He needed saving from himself especially, and Rose could do that. It was easy to see just how much he still felt for her with just one mention of her name. And she was sure Rose felt the same about him.

And if Rose really was going to outlive the Doctor's clone, who's to say she hasn't already? The Doctor said time works differently in that universe, so that easily could've happened. Plus, that bond wasn't meant to be broken or blocked. Surely it was dangerous, with Rose a universe away! She had to be brought back to her original universe for her own safety.

But something was off in this story. Clara couldn't put her finger on it, but something just wasn't right. Either the Doctor knew, and was ignoring it, or he was too caught up in his emotions to see. Both were likely options. This was a real mystery, and Clara had grown up an avid reader, Sherlock Holmes being one of her favorite series. And what did any great detective do when confronted with a mystery?

Find the answers.

Only, that was proving to be a bit difficult. To help her on her quest, Clara decided to attempt to befriend the TARDIS. The old machine was knowledgeable, and had access to information and materials Clara would need. It took some time to Clara convince herself to talk to a machine, but she did what she had to do. The friendship was always rocky, and she often had to take deep breaths and swallow down her frustration. But they had a common goal, so the two were getting there. Slowly.

The TARDIS had given her access to the library, and, occasionally, she was treated to something even more valuable. Now and then the TARDIS would surprise her with clips, of sorts. Whenever she was feeling low, frustrated at the Doctor, or wanted to give up, the TARDIS would surprise her with little holographic videos. They all showed snippets of the Doctor and Rose's old life together; as the TARDIS seemed to feel that Clara should understand their relationship in order to see why she must continue. It also lightened her spirits to see the couple interact. It was like watching a happy movie.

Too bad she knew the ending.

Which is why she was trying to fix this: because that _couldn't _just be the ending! The couple who seemed so in love lying on the grass of a planet which name Clara didn't know, couldn't just end like that. They deserved a happy ending. But she would have to wait it out. Their most recent adventure proved that.

Clara hadn't known about the bond blocking that he did, she hadn't known that Rose couldn't remember it. She had to find out more, make sure she wasn't missing any pieces of the puzzle. That was proving a bit difficult too. The Doctor was a _very_ closed person, but he was slowly opening up, perhaps because of old age, or perhaps because he was starting to trust her. But either way he didn't seem to give out anything that would help her. He just provided small comments like "I remember the time Rose and I…", "Rose used to love", and "Rose looked". Smitten, the man was, even after all this time.

Clara decided to try a new part of the library this time. In the far back corner, as if it was hidden, lay a strange machine. It was silver and smooth, with a shiny oval top. The object reminded her of the Pensieves from Harry Potter. As she touched it, Clara discovered how similar they really were. "TARDIS Archives" appeared on the screen, and holograms of all the Doctor's companions popped up around her. _JK Rowling must've met the Doctor, then._

Clara spent the next few hours looking through the files, searching for anything and anyone who could possible help her. Eventually she reached the companions from his ninth regeneration, including one that was becoming increasingly familiar.

It was strange, to think of the Doctor with so many previous faces, but, unfortunately, the TARDIS didn't show them to her. The ninth Doctor only had three companions: Rose, obviously, a man named Adam whose file stated he hadn't been on the TARDIS for long, and a man named Captain Jack Harkness.

Adam's file was short and dry, and Clara was saving Rose for last. So the captain was next. She smiled widely at what she read, and was filled with hope. This might come in handy, and he might know something that could help her.

"_Species: Human-Immortal_".

Jackie Tyler was in her element. "Rose, just what do you think you're doing out of bed?" Arms crossed and an accusing look on her face, Jackie was enough to terrify anyone; even her grown-up daughter.

"Mum, I don't need a babysitter! I'm fine!"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Rose, you're being silly. I know you had another one of those nightmares, and you need to start telling me when you do, sweetheart!"

Rose bit her lip. "How did you know I had one?"

Jackie laughed and sat on the stool next to Rose's. "Well, love, why else would you be eating ice cream at four in the morning?" Rose slid the tub over to Jackie, who took a spoonful gratefully. "Rose," she spoke between bites, "you have been keeping track, right?"

Rose rolled her eyes. _Really, I am not a child anymore. _"Yes, mum. I'm a big girl now; I don't need you to remind me." Jackie nudged her daughter with her shoulder.

"Oh, shut it you. You know we're only doing this because we care about you." Rose scoffed.

"You two are the biggest worriers I've ever met! You just want something to fuss over, now that Tony's growing up."

Jackie pushed the tub back over to Rose, and silently commanded her to eat. "John and I are only making you keep track of these dreams so that you're safe. It's…not right. Those aren't normal dreams, and you shouldn't be getting them."

"I know, I know, you lot all think I've lost it." she stood up to leave, but was stopped by Jackie placing her hand on Rose's arm. The girl really wasn't in the mood of listening to her mother talk about how she thinks her daughter isn't mentally sane.

"Oi! Watch it, missy! We don't think you're crazy, that's why we're making you do this. These…dreams are just unnatural. I don't know if we even _can _call them dreams."

_It never stopped you,_thought Rose bitterly.

"Believe me, I don't think they're dreams either." Jackie frowned.

"Well, we don't really know what they are." Rose bit her cheek. _Should I tell her? She __is __my mother. But I don't want John to know, it might upset him. I'm perfectly happy here, but he might take this the wrong way. But she's my mother, if I ask her she won't tell him._

"Mum, can I tell you something?"

"Yeah, of course love, you can tell me anything."

"I mean, don't tell John…he might take this the wrong way." Jackie nodded, and Rose took this as her cue to continue. "Remember Bad Wolf Bay? And the voices I heard in my head? That day when I blacked out in my office, I heard voices in my head again. It was different, but similar."

"Rose, you really need to tell John that! If the Doctor's coming-"

"But he's not, mum! He left me here!" Silence fell in the room, and Rose took a deep breath and continued. "But John already knows about that voice, and he said I was imagining it. Now though, I think that voice was the Doctor, maybe something still stuck in my head from the Bad Wolf incident. Who knows?" Rose was happy here, she really was, but there was something about the way she spoke, it was the same look in the Doctor's eyes: wanderlust. Jackie didn't seem to notice, though.

"And you think that John might worry you're still not over the Doctor." Rose nodded. "Oh, love, come here." Rose curled into her mother's embrace.

"That's not all, though. I've had nightmares before, everyone has. But this one seems so, so real. And it's the same thing every time. Nothing happens, I can't do anything, I'm just trapped inside this box, watching my life, and hearing a voice."

"What does the voice say?" Jackie looked to her daughter

"It's…screaming, almost, but the voice doesn't want me to hear, for some reason. But it's not out loud, it's in my head. I can feel it."

"Rose, what's it saying?" Jackie looked worried.

"My name. The voice is saying my name, over and over again."

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading, and pretty pretty please review!**

**Even if you hate this story, I'd love to hear what you think.**

**This chapter was meant to tie a few strings together, but it's about to go down next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello, my lovelies. I'm surprised I'm actually keeping up with this story! But I couldn't have done it without my beta, Luh13, who I probably annoyed the crap out of. Sorry.**

**Big thank you to all of the reviewers! It means so much to me, and thank you so very much!**

Jack Harkness was tired.

Tired of Torchwood, tired of people, tired of life. Could he really call this life, though? No, life ended a long time ago. Life ended after Rose and the Doctor, after everything he could've been was taken away from him. Life ended after the Bad Wolf.

This was just existing.

And it turned out existing could be pretty exhausting. He had to keep going on, day after day, watching everything he knew and love crumble to dust. It was too much work to even care anymore. What was the point? Everything would just pass him by, and if he got involved, it would just cause him pain.

Losing everyone he ever knew or cared about really takes a toll on a person. He now understood why the Doctor was so reluctant in letting someone enter his life.

Jack knew that in a way, he was blessed. Obviously, he was cursed too, but millions of others would die to be like him. Hell, millions already had. But his unique position allowed him to help people. He could protect the ones that he could never be like.

Still, that thought kept him going. The Earth (and the universe, even), was too weak to be on its own. It needed protectors. There was always going to come yet another day when there was trouble, and someone needed to save them. Jack couldn't do it all on his own. No, there was someone else who stepped in to save the day: the Doctor.

Jack knew there was always going to come a day when the Doctor would return. And when he did, life would begin again. It was only a matter of time.

But years of waiting dampened these hopes. Time pushed these hopes to the back of his mind. While they were always there, they slowly crumbled and made way for darker, crueler thoughts. Jack was, by nature, a happy, easy going guy. It took a lot to turn him into an old friend of his.

It was strange, really, how alike the two of them were. Both were intelligent, slightly mad, impulsive, cared too much, and had to watch time pass them by. Not to mention, both had their lives changed by a beautiful, young blonde.

Rose.

Jack missed her. Deeply. Of course, he had loved her. Not quite like a sister, and not quite romantically. It was similar to the way he felt about the Doctor. Only, his feelings towards the Doctor were laced with a lot more animosity.

Rose had done this to him, but only to save him. The Doctor had abandoned him. Sure, eventually they somewhat repaired their relationship, but the Doctor never came back. After everything that had happened, the Doctor still didn't return. He left Jack to deal with everything, let his team die.

Damn. He really was becoming a bitter old man.

Jack raised the bottle to take another sip, when suddenly the telly flared to life. But it wasn't a fluke, or a normal show. Instead, an unfamiliar brunette appeared, calling his name. She was in someplace familiar, but he couldn't place it. It looked like a library, but he couldn't remember where it was.

"Jack! Jack Harkness!" That pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah that's me. Who the hell are you, and how did you get on my TV?" There was a time when he would have liked having a beautiful girl in his telly, but nowadays, Jack found he just didn't care anymore. He didn't even care about how that situation was…weird. Besides, what could she do? Kill him? It was probably just some kid pulling a prank.

"My name's Clara Oswin Oswald. We have to do this quickly, since he could pop up any moment."

"Who's he? And what are you doing?"

"The Doctor. And I'm trying to bring back Rose Tyler." The bottle fell to the floor.

* * *

Clara had never really believed in the TARDIS. Sure, it was great and all that, after all, it was a Time Machine. But that was just it: the TARDIS was a machine.

But after learning about Rose, it was like the ship had come to life. Clara could see it, how the ship felt about this girl. She didn't quite understand it, but she was still looking for answers. Oddly enough, the ship was helping.

Their relationship gradually improved. Clara figured it was because the ship had a strong attachment to Rose, and wanted her back. Within a few weeks, it seemed the TARDIS actually trusted her. It was a great feeling, really, to know a powerful ship that can sail through time and space trusts you.

After finding the TARDIS archives, Clara decided she would have to find Jack Harkness. With his…unique gifts, and history with the Doctor and Rose, he might be able to help.

Or not. It had said that the Doctor left him some incident involving the Bad Wolf. That was the thing about the archives. It seemed to be full of inside jokes that Clara just wouldn't get. It was full of information, yet at the same time it withheld all the answers. It was like riddle.

Jack appeared to be a solid lead, though. Clara had a feeling about him. Obviously the TARDIS did too, because she arranger for their meeting, of sorts.

Somehow, between enigmatic clues, mental nudges, flickering lights, and shouting matches with the ceiling, Clara had developed a plan with the TARDIS. The TARDIS would rearrange some wires in the Console Room, prompting the Doctor to go and tinker for a few hours. Meanwhile, the TARDIS would make the library hard for the Doctor to get to. Inside, Clara would talk to Jack through a screen from the 51stcentury.

Apparently the TARDIS had done this before, only with cell phones. How was a telly any different then?

Doing this was actually giving Clara bursts of adrenaline. Sneaking around, avoiding the Doctor, gathering info: it was all a bit like a detective story.

Once the TARDIS gave the sign that the Doctor was in the Console Room, she took a deep breath and started the signal.

Jack Harkness was not at all what she expected. He was more handsome than his hologram; in a rugged, disheveled way. But she could see that he didn't normally look that way. He had dark circles under his eyes, thick stubble, and a beer bottle in his hand. Clara really hoped this was one of those "looks can be deceiving" scenarios.

She started talking to him, but didn't really have his attention until she mentioned Rose. That was when the beer bottle dropped, sending shards of glass everywhere.

"Shit!" Clara fought the urge to giggle. This _was _a serious matter, after all. The man ran around, kicking the glass haphazardly before sitting back down on the sofa. "How do you know about Rose?" he didn't look happy.

"I'm…the Doctor's latest companion. I kinda ran into their old bedroom, and got the whole story. Actually, I only got parts of it, but that's not important right now. Well it is, but-argh! This is harder than I thought."

The man stared at her. "Come on, let's make some sense."

Clara glared at him. _Sassy little twit! _"I want to find a way to bring Rose back. The Doctor's a wreck, and she could be in danger. Plus, she's going to outlive the clone so there's not point of leaving her there. I thought maybe, you might know something or could use your…abilities to help me."

The man laughed, but it wasn't a happy noise. "So, you're some strange girl showing up on my TV, asking for a way to cross parallel universes. You really think I'm that stupid?"

"No, that's not-"

"Let me tell you something, little girl. I have done things and seen things that would scar you. I have killed, and lost to the point of no return. Messing with me is only going to do one thing-"

"I'm not-"

"Ensure your downfall."

"Jack! You have to believe me, please!"

"Why would I do that?"

Clara didn't have an answer. She thought of everything she knew, anything that could possibly gain this man's trust. The lights flickered, and Clara looked around her. Two words were written on everything, carved into the table, on the name of all the books. Smiling, Clara mentally thanked the TARDIS and turned back towards the monitor.

"Bad Wolf."

* * *

The Doctor was beginning to get a bit suspicious. No one but Donna had ever wanted to know this much about Rose. And even then, she was trying to help him get over her. Clara was acting odd, like she wanted to know everything about her. Like Rose was a subject to be studied.

Coincidentally, she had been spending a large amount of time in the library, which was weird.

Not that she was stupid, she was actually a bit clever, but there was something about it, he didn't know what, that just didn't feel right. Maybe because he never saw her take books out of it, nor did she talk about what she was reading. It was as if she was never there, but he still saw her go in, and come out hours later.

To make things even more unusual, Clara had become friends with the TARDIS. They used to hate each other! How did this happen? And they kept having little silent conversations that he was being kept out of. The only person that the TARDIS was like this with was Rose. They loved each other, and the TARDIS would often take Rose's side in an argument. He had never seen his ship really interact with anyone since Rose. She didn't just interact with anyone. Therefore, something had to be going on, and they were keeping secrets.

That did not sit well with him. This was his TARDIS, and he would not be kept in the dark, thank you very much.

That's right. This was _his _TARDIS. He stopped sharing it a _long _time ago. It was time to do something about it.

The Doctor got out from underneath the console and marched towards the library. The flickering lights and mental nudges from the TARDIS to go away only made him angry. After five minutes, he still didn't get to the room. "Where is it?" he yelled at the closest wall.

The lights dimmed. "I said; where is it?" The lights flickered. "Really? You want to play this game? We don't even know who she is, and now you're keeping secrets with her?" He got an indignant mental nudge from the TARDIS. "Fine then. I'll just keep going 'til I find it. But don't be surprised if I accidentally spill tea in the Console Room."

Yes, he knew he was being childish. But he _really _wanted to know. Besides, who was going to reprimand him?

Ten minutes later, the library door appeared in the hallway. He quickly ran inside, only to find it empty. The Doctor sighed, and made his way over to the back corner. There was a little sofa there and a table, blankets everywhere. That used to be _her _spot.

It made him a little uncomfortable, Clara being in here so often. He felt that she could somehow know what he and Rose used to get up to in here. Blushing at that thought, the Doctor sat down on the sofa. He could almost imagine she was still here, curled up in a blanket, hair up in a bun. Whenever he came running in she would put her book down and he would sit down next to her, curling into the blanket.

One time he had brought her jelly donuts, and one thing led to another. They ended up circling each other around the table, squirting jelly at each other across it. The Doctor smiled, thinking of those good times.

He ran his hand over the table, pausing as he felt something scratch his hand. He looked down to see something that definitely wasn't there before. Right in front of his eyes, "Bad Wolf" was freshly carved into the table.

"Clara!"

* * *

John was grouchy.

Sticky and smelly and annoyed and grouchy.

He had been on this stupid mission for a week already, and it didn't look like they were even going to _find _the energy source, let alone determine whether it was usable. He hated to disappoint Rose.

Rose.

His lovely, amazing wife who he was very worried about right now. These dreams, he really didn't understand what they were or what they meant. But hearing the Doctor's voice inside her head? That terrified him.

With a loud yell, he hacked across the plant in front of him. Why did the energy flare have to occur in a bloody jungle? It was absolutely impossible to get to, and now that the energy signal had died out they might never find it.

Just another thing to worry about.

Even though he was on this mission, that couldn't be his main priority. Rose was, and always will be. And as he made his way through the jungle, his thoughts were on her.

If she was hearing the Doctor, either something bad was happening on his end, or the mental barriers were breaking. Both thoughts were enough to make him shudder. If the barriers were breaking, then Rose would die. And he couldn't let that happen.

He resolved himself to going inside her head, strengthening the walls on his end. Yes, he was going to do it without her knowing. But she already didn't know about the bond, and it was only for her safety. He'd hate to invade her mind like this, but he couldn't bear it if she died.

What would he be without her? His original body was born to love her, and so was this one. He would keep loving her, no matter what, until the end of his days. Even if the Doctor came and took her back (which was utterly impossible), he would let her go, if that was what she really wanted. Whatever made her happy, he would do.

Which was why he was still in this god awful jungle, trying to find an energy source that probably never existed. It was probably just some fluke, or someone messing around. It didn't even look like there was anything around here, and they had been searching for a week.

John cut down another tree and then, hearing a loud beeping, stopped abruptly. The other members of the team crashed into his back, grumbling about crazy aliens. John looked for the source of the beeping; checking multiple phones and detectors before realizing it was the one on his hip. He picked it up, and almost dropped it after looking on the screen. "Come on, boys! It's detected the energy flare again!"

They moved swifter than ever, the beeping becoming increasingly louder.

After a few minutes the team reached an open area, and the sight made their jaws drop.

"No," he whispered. _This couldn't happen, this was impossible!_ An image of Rose telling him he obviously didn't understand the word popped into his mind, but he discarded it. They were all in danger right now! He had to stop it, somehow.

But what could he do right now?

The rift was open, swirling and shooting out energy. The sight made the rest of the team step back, but John stepped forward. Then the rift shuddered, and John's world faded to black.

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading!**

**If you'd like to review, that'd be awesome. I'd be ever so grateful.**

**Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So, I didn't originally plan to be able to update for a while, but things happened and I found myself with a load of free time! Which is, good and bad, I guess. It's funny, because I just told someone I wouldn't be able to update this story for a few weeks.**

**Thank you to my beta, Luh13, who made this way better.**

**And BIG thank you to those who reviewed last chapter: JustANerdyGirl, Luh13, seablue4u, greeneyesCutie, rycbarm123, Tatalindx, Henny14, and Angeleye87. Thank you all so, so very much. Reviews really do mean the world.**

It couldn't be real. There was no way that it could possibly be true. The Bad Wolf coming back was impossible. He would know, he had sent it back into a different universe. But then, how the hell was it written on the table?

The carving was new: sharp and full of splinters. Besides, he had never noticed it in all those times he had gone to that table in her absence. He liked to go there when he visited the library; he could almost pretend she was still with him there. Her blankets, her stack of books, and even her smell (thanks to the TARDIS) still remained.

However, Bad Wolf did not. Bad Wolf was gone, he took it out of her. And the source had been… relocated. There was no way she was coming back (however tempting the thought was, and _oh_, how he wanted it), and no way she could've written it.

So that only left one option:

"Tell me where Clara is!" The ship's lights flickered, but no help was given. "_I said_, tell me where she is!" The lights in the room dimmed.

"Really, you're going to keep doing this? I have spent _centuries _mourning Rose, and so did you! I was almost willing to sacrifice _all of creation _just to bring her back again, and I _still _lost her! I will not stand here and put up with these little mind games. Tell me where Clara is, so I can stop this!"

The Doctor stood panting for a good five minutes, but nothing happened. He never had the courage to stand up to his ship like that, but now that he had calmed down he felt guilty for losing his temper. He walked to the nearest wall and stroked it gently. "I'm sorry, I really am. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that. But do you see why I'm hurt? I don't want to get my hopes up again, just to feel her loss more than ever." The wall buzzed against his fingers. "I don't know what you're doing, and that scares me. I'll trust you, but I'm still scared. So please, will you tell me where Clara is?"

Much to his pleasure, a door suddenly opened in the wall next to him. He opened it to see Clara walking down a hallway. A hallway that was rarely used, because it went to his bedroom. So that settled it: Clara definitely was up to something.

"Clara, what're you doing?" She froze before turning around, a fake smile on her face.

"Nothing, I was just looking for you. Fancy a cuppa?" She gestured toward him with one of the cups in her hand.

"What'd you put in it? Alcohol? Veritaserum?" She frowned, evidently not getting the joke. He _really_ needed to find a companion who liked Harry Potter. The non-potterheads just weren't any fun.

"I didn't do anything to it, Doctor."

"Well then, just what _are _you up to, Clara?" She bit her lip, and he inwardly grinned. _Time for some answers._

"Nothing," she stammered. "I'm not up to anything at all."

"Really? Then why do the cups say 'Bad Wolf'?"

* * *

Clara inwardly cringed. _I thought you were trying to help me! Why would you write that on the mugs? _Unfortunately, she didn't get anything in return from the TARDIS. _Fine then, I guess I'll just tell him about the plan._

That got a response, as Clara could almost feel the TARDIS shouting 'no' in her head. _What do you want me to do then? _Clara received a picture of the TARDIS archives in her head, and then one of Pinocchio. _Fine, but that won't distract him for long. Why are we doing this, then?_

Clara received a long line of mental pictures and nudges, which ended with her concluding that the Doctor was getting suspicious, so now they have to lie. Still, Clara got the feeling that the TARDIS was hiding things. Why else would she plant 'Bad Wolf'? It was only going to make the Doctor more suspicious. Still, she had webs to weave.

"Er, you see, I wanted to find out more about Rose, because she seemed so great. So the TARDIS showed me the archives. There was something about Bad Wolf in there for Rose. And when I was making tea, I saw these mugs and I thought they might make you happy. You know, bring back old memories?" The Doctor's face crumpled and Clara felt awful. The TARDIS had never actually explained Bad Wolf, all she knew was that it made Jack trust her, and had something to do with Rose.

"Old memories, yes, but not necessarily good ones." The Doctor slid down against the wall, and then patted the spot on the ground next to him.

"How d'you mean, Doctor?"

"Let me tell you a story, Clara. It's about a dark, broody prince (That's me, you know, lord, royalty, prince? Okay, I'll continue now.), the princess with all of the power in the world who saved him, and their lovely companion." Clara listened as he told his tale, and pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together. Now she understood Bad Wolf, but was still confused as to why the TARDIS was using it. If they were saving Rose, then Bad Wolf didn't have anything to do with it, right?

She tried to ask the TARDIS this, but she didn't receive a response. _Typical. You know, sometimes I wonder just whose side you're actually on here_. The TARDIS merely sent her a picture of Roses.

Clara was about to ask what exactly happened to Jack after Bad Wolf, when an ear-splitting noise filled the hallway. It was followed by purple-y lights flashing, and the hallway shifted to open into the Console Room.

"What's going on?" Clara asked, her hands covering her ears.

"It's a mauve alert! It means we've got an emergency, come on!" He ran over to the console and pressed a series of buttons, which thankfully turned off the screeching and lights.

"Doctor, where are we going?"

"It says here that we're going to Pandor-IV. Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!"

* * *

After 'meeting' Clara and starting their little 'project', Jack took an indefinite break from Torchwood. He had started with them because he had no place else to go, no purpose, and they needed a change. But lately they had been draining him and his work there seemed pointless. Combined with his new mission from Clara, the pros of leaving outweighed the cons.

But maybe walking in and saying "Fuck you all, I'm out of here!" hadn't been the best approach. Especially since there was always a possibility he might have to go back. Knowing the Doctor, he'd help him out and then be dropped back off again. But still, it was pretty liberating. All of his friends there had left anyways, so it was just a bunch of pricks that couldn't do shit and always overreacted. Plus, they always wanted to run tests on him.

Yeah. Not gonna happen.

It was looking a lot like old Torchwood again. Who knows what kind of shit those idiots would do if they got the chance? Somehow, they didn't quite understand that having vast amounts of power and technology wasn't going to end well; no matter how many aliens they stopped from doing exactly the same thing. _Hypocrites…_

Jack wasn't just leaving the toddlers without supervision, though. God knows that would probably cause another war. No, Martha and Mickey were going to be keeping an eye on them, and if they didn't behave then the branch was going to be shut down. Jack found that he really didn't care.

In celebration of his new-found freedom, Jack set the coordinates to one of his favorite intergalactic pubs. It was a nice little spot on Pandor-IV, full of hot aliens and completely free of worries. The place served the best Hyper Screwdrivers in the galaxy. Well, at least out of the places he's been too. Which was quite a few.

Jack set the coordinates into his Vortex Manipulator, and hoped for the best. The thing had gotten damaged in a mission last month, and while he had fixed it, he hadn't tried it out yet. Still, today was a great day and nothing was going to change that. Besides, the worst that could happen was that he would land a few miles outside the bar.

With a loud crash, Jack found himself in a dirty alley and with a massive headache. He popped a few pills in his mouth and then checked the Vortex Manipulator.

"Fuck," he groaned. He had landed a hundred years past the bar closing. _Great. I knew forgot to do something while fixing the stupid piece of junk._

Jack picked himself off the ground and wandered outside. The Vortex Manipulator would need another fifteen minutes to recharge itself, and he figured he might as well make the most of his time here. He probably could use a nice pick-me-up for the next trip. Honestly, he _really_ needed to start building a manipulator; this one was getting old.

Jack wandered around until he found a slightly dingy pub not far from where the old one used to be. As he was waiting for his drink, two humanoids in uniforms sat down.

"I'm telling you, it's not right."

"She's not even a proper human. Of course she's going to be weird." Proper human? That was enough to get his attention.

"But still: screaming fits after all this time? Something's wrong with her."

"She's still in the pod. And the screaming stopped after a couple of seconds. Trust me; The Golden One isn't going anywhere."

"I don't know, man."

"He doesn't even know she's gone, let alone that something's wrong with her. We aren't gonna have the Oncoming Storm chasing after us, so chill."

Jack pulled out his phone and called the TARDIS.

* * *

Rose was bored. It was a weekend, so she didn't have to go to work. The past few days had been mission-free, so she had caught up on things she had been meaning to do. All of her friends were busy, and Jackie was being irritating. Plus, John was still gone.

John. How she missed him.

She and he rarely were apart for longer than a few days, so this was a stretch for her. They had gotten so accustomed to each other's presence, so in-tune with each other, that this just felt weird. It was like a part of them was always meant to be together, never separated.

With that thought something tugged in the back of her mind, but try as she might she couldn't figure out what. _God, maybe I am going crazy_.

But if she had been, she seemed to recover from it. She had stopped hearing the Doctor's voice (no, you don't know it's him, you don't know what it sounds like and it can't be) inside her head. However, the dreams of being inside the pod persisted. It was strange, it really was. She had looked up meanings of dreams on the internet, but couldn't find anything.

Rose had then turned to the library. Pete had an extensive collection of all sorts of books, and while she had found books on the subject, none helped her. During her search, she found herself too tired to go back upstairs. She remembered a time when she often fell asleep in the back corner of a library, curled up in fluffy blankets and soothed by a gently mechanical hum. Oftentimes she was accompanied by the Doctor, or woken up by him. Rose smiled to herself, before grabbing a blanket from the side of the sofa.

She thought about her last time in the TARDIS library, but frowned when she couldn't quite remember it. That was strange; she had memories of the littlest things on the TARDIS quite vividly. Rose tried to remember some of the other times in the library, but discovered some were blurry too. It was only certain parts, though. She could remember entire evenings, but in certain parts of the evening the memory was almost…smudged. Like it was forbidden.

_I'm just tired. God knows I haven't been getting enough sleep lately._

Rose woke up late the next morning. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and went to look for Jackie. As she was trudging up the stairs, she noticed her feet seemed heavier. Rose finally reached the top, but her body didn't seem to want to move.

She looked down, and saw a huge puddle of goo on the floor, coming nearer and growing larger. Rose screamed, and the world went black once more.

**A/N: Thank you guys so very much for reading!**

**Please review? Come on, do a good deed for the day! You know you want to!**

**Also, I don't know if any of you read it, but my story "Shaken and Stirred" is now on hiatus indefinitely. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Welcome back! Did you miss me?**

***awkward silence***

**I shall explain life on the bottom Author's Note!**

**Someone asked for a summary of the story so far. And because this does involve lots of people, I'll give you a summary for the main characters.**

**Doctor: He put a "failsafe" on Rose after they bonded so that she would be safe in case they were ever separated. He gave her away to the metacrisis, and blah blah blah. But when his mental walls were attacked on Psylocke, the walls that block the bond cracked a bit. Now he's a bit broken, and has told Clara Rose's story.**

**Rose: The bond was blocked on her end, but she's having weird dreams of being in a pod. She thought she heard the Doctor's voice in her head (mental walls cracking), but she's never heard that voice before. Her hand melted before John left for Asia, and she blacked out again at her mum's house.**

**Clara: Went in the Doctor's bedroom, and now is conspiring with the TARDIS to bring Rose back. She talked to Jack to see if he could help. But she feels like she's missing something.**

**Jack: Tired of Torchwood, contacted by Clara for help. He went to celebrate, when he overheard something from some guards.**

**John: He's married to Rose, and knows about the bond, even though he doesn't have it because he's a clone. He's scared the bond-blocking walls will break and destroy Rose. Right now he's in Asia investigating an energy spike, and blacked out.**

**I'd love to give a HUGE thank you to Luh13 and AgentInvaderMinionofDoom for betaing. This was such crap without them.**

**ALSO, thank you so, so very much to the following people for reviewing: rycbarm123, Luh13, The Alternative Source, greeneyesCutie, JustANerdyGirl, Bookworm64, Tatalindx, TheDoctor'sBiggestFanStarrojas, Emerald Alitrex, latest-blooming-sakura-blossom, ElfDrake, jake2490, Angeleye87, JollyRoger1, Henny14, and MirrorFlower and DarkWind. You seriously are SO awesome, and I cannot tell you how much your reviews mean to me, especially during this time. Thank you **

**Now this chapter's a bit different (pleasedon'tkillmeIknowyoumisstheothers), but necessary. It ties a few different pieces together that are needed for later chapters. I think this has been long enough now.**

**Allons-y!**

The flight was more bumpy than usual, almost as if the TARDIS didn't want to have to land there. In hindsight, that should've been the first sign. But the Doctor simply wrote it off as her needing a tune-up. The ship was an ancient Type 40: _of course _there was always something to fix.

The TARDIS groaned as she landed, but the Doctor didn't notice. Clara did, however. "Doctor, what was that noise?"

He looked up. "Hmm? I didn't hear anything."

"It sounded like the TARDIS was in pain or something."

The Doctor laughed and patted the console. "Must've been some faulty wiring. It's nothing to worry about." Clara frowned but didn't say anything else. Instead, she simply followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS.

He stopped suddenly, and she bashed into his back. "What'd you stop for?"

He didn't know what to say. Something about this place felt…strange. It was both familiar and foreign at the same time, and his gut told him to run far, far away. But he was positive that he had never been here before. The Doctor ran back in the TARDIS to check the console. "Doctor? Doctor, what are you doing?"

"We're in the right place, right time," he mumbled to himself.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch it." That pulled him out of his thoughts. Even though Clara had been traveling with him for a little while now, sometimes he still forgot there was another person on his ship. Which meant there was someone he had to keep safe and watch over. It had been a mauve alert, so they couldn't just leave. They had to go out, but the Doctor couldn't worry her.

"Oh, I was just checking that we were in the right place. You know, mauve alert and all, we can't afford to miss it!" He put on his most confidant smile, took a deep breath, and strolled out of the TARDIS. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew this wasn't going to be a fun trip.

They had landed just outside a forest. It was dark, even though it was still daytime. The trees were purple and scaly, and looked like they were starting to rot. In fact, everything around them looked half rotten. But the strangest thing was that they didn't smell rotten. In fact, they smelled like burning and the TARDIS and the beach, all swirled together. His chest clenched, and he started to sweat. This place wasn't right.

Next to him, Clara shivered. "Do you smell that?"

"Yes, although I don't know how it's possible. I mean, we're nowhere near the beach so I know that smell is completely impossible."

"What're you talking about? It smells like dirt and my mother's favorite flowers, but I don't see any around her." He sniffed, but couldn't smell any flowers. And she couldn't smell the beach. Something was definitely wrong…

"What were they?"

"What?"

"Your mother's favorite flowers. What were they?"

"Oh, well it's not really important. I mean, they aren't here." She cringed. "I mean, there aren't any flowers around, and we should just focus on whatever we're doing here." He nodded. Right then. He knew exactly what her mum's favorite flowers were. "So, do we have to go in the forest?" Clara asked already knowing the answer.

They walked into the forest slowly, using the sonic as light. But the green hue only served to make the place creepier. There were strange noises, and ones that he knew shouldn't be in a forest. It was all rather like a haunted house.

_Maybe this is all some prank. But who would pull a prank on me?_

They kept walking until the Doctor tripped and fell, rather dramatically. It would've been funny had they not been in a scene right out of a horror movie. Smirking slightly, Clara held out her hand and helped him up. "This forest is out to get me."

"Don't go blaming your clumsiness on the forest!"

"No, really! I don't just trip! Well, I do occasionally, but this time I really tripped on something." He grabbed the sonic screwdriver and searched the forest ground. "It's gotta be around here somew-aha!" He pressed a silver button in the ground, hoping it would give them a lead on the mauve signal.

A holographic screen popped up. "Please enter the password." He felt uneasy again, and the urge to run away became even stronger. The Doctor buzzed the sonic over the silver button, and the screen reacted. "Password accepted. Proceed."

The forest ground shook suddenly, and the area in front of them began to decline. "Come on, let's get on that and see where it goes!" He was surprised by how cheerful his voice sounded, because his insides were screaming for him to run away.

_No matter how much I want to leave, I have to stay and help whoever's in danger. I can't let this bother me. I have to stay strong for Clara._

They jumped onto the platform sinking into a gleaming underground building. The pair walked in, Clara behind the Doctor. He could feel her fear, and it did nothing to quell his own. They turned the corner, and he saw a familiar logo that made his jaw drop.

_But why would they want me? They operated on their own terms, they would never ask for my help. They know I don't approve of them._

"Doctor…what's the Time Agency?"

He looked around, searching for cameras or guards and buzzing the air with the sonic. "They're an organization from the 49thcentury. They can travel in time, and do it to complete missions. Their goal is to do it without being noticed; which they're normally very good at."

"Shouldn't we be stopping them or something?"

"What? Oh, no. Too many paradoxes already and such. They're right little meddlers, but they're not that bad. I had a friend who was a Time Agent once. Good man."

Clara swallowed. "Did…did he die?"

The Doctor chuckled. "Oh, loads of times. But don't worry, he's alright now."

"But then how-oh." She stopped, realizing something "It was Jack, wasn't it?" He nodded. "Well, then what are we doing here?"

"I haven't the foggiest! But let's go explore a bit and see what we find."

Needless to say, that didn't go very well. Within five minutes, the pair was caught by a group of guards and then escorted to some sort of laboratory. The Doctor was getting more anxious by the minute.

_What's wrong with me? And this place? I never feel like this. Ever._

The laboratory was pristine, and filled with an assortment of technology that couldn't have been there for peaceful purposes. _Hell, half of it's not even from the right time!_ The lab walls were dotted with different doors; including a transparent one labeled "Holding Area". The Doctor could see another man already waiting inside.

The guards put them in the room without saying a word. The man inside had his back turned, but the Doctor's stomach clenched. He knew who that was. He didn't need to see the face. Which was ironic, because someday that's all the man would be.

"Jack Harkness, I am so, so sorry." _Odd, I sound a bit like the tenth me there._

The man turned around slowly, and the Doctor groaned. _Wrong Jack. Of course._ "Why are you sorry? You're stuck in this mess too."

"Right, sorry, timelines and all that. Wrong you." Jack raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I know you from the future." _He hasn't seen me in the eleventh, so we're all good. For now._

"Okay, whatever you say. Who are you, by the way?" The Doctor looked over at Clara to try and silently tell her not to say anything. But she wasn't looking at him; she was staring at Jack with an odd look on her face. And not the usual looks that people gave Jack.

"I'm John Smith. I'd ask you your name, but I already know it. So, what exactly are we doing in here?"

"You mean you really don't know?"

"Nope, not a clue! Just followed a mauve signal, and here we are. No other clues."

Jack made a face. "I'm sorry about that."

"What're you sorry for?" Jack rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Well, I sent the signal. But I didn't mean for you to get it, it was supposed to go to someone else."

"Way to make a man feel good about himself! Here I was, thinking I was special."

"Sorry, man, I don't think you can help me."

"And the person you sent it for can?"

"Well, yeah. Or I hoped. I've never actually met him; I was hoping he'd show up."

"Who?"

Jack frowned. "A lot of people think he's a myth. Or just a gross exaggeration. But after everything I've seen working for this place, I believe he's real. And if anyone can help me, he can. The Doctor."

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, Jack. That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said about me. Actually, I think that's the only nice thing you've ever said about me. Pick-up lines don't count."

Jack stared. "Wait, you're the Doctor?"

"In the flesh."

"I can't believe it actually worked! Thank god you're here to save me. This is fantastic!"

The Doctor gave a goofy grin. "Yes, I am, aren't I? So what's the problem?" Jack stood up, and pointed at a piece of machinery in the center of the room.

"You see that? That's the Time Agency's latest project. They call it Living Death because it makes you relive your worst nightmares. The Time Agency made it as a weapon, to extract information. I made a fuss and tried to stop them, and now here I am. I'm going to be their first lab rat. They've never tested it before, and from what I've heard there's a lot of risk."

The Doctor felt even guiltier than he had upon seeing Jack's face. "But that's why I'm here. I'm going to stop them!" He stood up and walked over to the wall. Using the sonic (he was so lucky they hadn't frisked him) he melted off a square to reveal the wires underneath. "Right, so the machine's hooked up to the central wiring. Which runs through here. If I can just adjust a couple of these wires so that-" a few wires exploded in his face. "Well, there seems to be an issue."

Clara groaned; and he realized that it was the first noise she made since encountering Jack. "What do you mean, issue?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a lot like his tenth self again. "The power's rigged to a backup. Which means, I need to go into the external hard drive to remove everything. And then the machine and data will malfunction after the refractory period."

"What?"

"It means that he can shut it down from here, but it won't take effect for a while," Jack supplied.

"Three hours and twenty-two minutes to be exact."

The trio sat in silence for two hours. Jack eventually perked up a bit, and at that point started flirting with both the Doctor and Clara. "Time and place, Jack!"

Jack simply laughed. "Okay then: name the time and place."

The Doctor sputtered, which sent Jack and Clara into a round of giggles. Even the Doctor joined in, and the three almost forgot why they were really there.

Almost.

Because a severe-looking man in a lab coat opened the cell, flanked by two guards. "We'll take the Gallifreyan first."

"What? I'm not Gallifreyan. What's a Gallifreyan?"

The man rolled his eyes. "This is the Time Agency. You really think we won't be able to identify a Gallifreyan? I am surprised to see one though. Most thought they were myths, others thought they were all dead." The Doctor opened and closed his mouth before being escorted to the machine.

"You really don't want to do this, you know."

The man started flipping switches on the machine. "And why is that?"

"Because I'm the Doctor. I'm the most powerful being in the universe, entire species run at just one mention of my name. I'm the smartest being you'll ever encounter, and the most dangerous. I've stopped men greater than you, I've done things you can't even imagine!"

The man chuckled. "So you're the infamous Doctor. Well then, it sounds like we'll have a lot of fun, Destroyer of Worlds." And with that, he flipped one final lever, and the Doctor screamed.

_Come on, stay strong. Only forty two more minutes 'til the end of the refractory period. Don't think of anything bad; focus on happy thoughts. Fishfingers and custard and Wii and-SUSAN! No, don't leave me, you can't!_

The Doctor started panting and screaming about Susan. The man was writing notes and studying the Doctor, occasionally poking him with the pen or adjusting levers. He upped the amplitude, and the Doctor let out the most bloodcurdling scream anyone in the room had ever heard. It was enough to make them all flinch.

He started shouting in Gallifreyan and screaming about Daleks. Clara could only assume it was about the war he never talked about. She had a vague idea, but after seeing him relive it she decided never to ask him.

The man flipped another switch, and somehow the Doctor seemed to be in even more pain. Clara felt tears prick her eyes. The man was over 1000 years old, and so many awful things had happened to him. _This has to be the worst possible torture for him._

He screamed for Rose, and yelled jumbled up sentences that involved 'slipping', 'metacrisis', and finally 'I love you'. Clara covered her ears and closed her eyes, not willing to be witness to any more of the pain. The tears slipped.

But then she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "Shh, it's all going to be okay. I promise."

"How can you say that? It's hurting him so much, and the machine still hasn't gone off!"

"I set off a sonic blaster to hit when the machine goes off. Everyone in the building outside of this room will be hit. The Doc will be able to hold out until it hits, and then we can get out of here."

"But what about everyone in the room?"

Jack gave her a wry smile. "I can take 'em."

Clara laughed, but stopped as the screams abruptly cut off. She whirled around to see the Doctor in a pile on the floor. He was attached to a monitor that told her he was still alive, but seeing the Doctor so weak and vulnerable scared her.

The guards came in and switched the Doctor (who was placed in a wheelchair) out with Jack. Jack started screaming as soon as the machine started. Clara covered her ears and focused on her breathing. After a few minutes something nudged her, and she looked down to see the Doctor weakly poking her foot.

"S'gotta happen." His head was lolling back and forth, and Clara wasn't sure if he was still remembering or not.

"What's got to happen, Doctor?"

"This…the machine. S'gotta happen."

"Why's that, Doctor?"

"Because…that's the way it's always been." He started to slip back into unconsciousness.

"Doctor! Doctor, stay with me!" He opened his eyes again, but looked extremely drowsy.

"The machine…s'too strong. Not human. Jack's human."

"Doctor? What's going to happen to him?"

"It'll take away his…his memories. Gotta let him go." He slipped back into unconsciousness once more, and although she tried, Clara couldn't wake him up. She focused on her breathing, trying to think of anything but the scene right outside the glass doors. She was preparing herself for her turn when she heard screams that definitely weren't Jack's.

Turning around, Clara saw Jack shooting the guards and the man with the gun he picked up in the lab. Amazingly he was that he was still attached to the machine as he did this. After everyone had fallen to the floor, Jack crumpled and started sobbing, before falling unconscious like the Doctor, and seconds later the power cut out.

When it came back on, the machine was off and the glass door was open. Clara wheeled the Doctor out of the room and tried to navigate through the lab. But this proved difficult as the wheels kept bashing into everything.

Clara let out a string of curses at the third hit, into a door named 'Project Janus'. She got the strangest feeling as she walked by it, like something was terribly wrong. But now wasn't the time to be investigating the Time Agency's dirty laundry. Clara wheeled the Doctor over to Jack, and picked up a Vortex Manipulator. Jack couldn't come with them, and it was the only way to get him out of there. Clara strapped it to Jack's wrist, pressed random buttons, and hoped for the best. Jack disappeared with a loud 'pop', and Clara was left alone in a creepy building with an unconscious Doctor.

She somehow managed to wheel them out and back into the forest. But from there, it took her another half hour to make it back into the TARDIS where Clara placed the Doctor in the Med Bay, not really knowing what to do with him. He had 'superior genetics', as he was always mentioning, so she figured he'd be fine. By the time Clara made it back to her room, she was absolutely exhausted, to the point where she fell asleep almost immediately after collapsing on the bed. She was having pleasant dreams, until a sudden lurch made her fall out of bed.

Clara looked up to see the Doctor wearing the scariest face she had ever seen.

"We're going to go get Rose Tyler."

**A/N: So, it's been a little over a week. Which for some of you, I know, probably wasn't very nice. I did get some messages about hurrying up. I'm sorry! I really, truly, am. Not that most of you care, this note is probably only going to be read by a handful of people. **

**But life does happen. It happens in the worst of times and the most unexpected ways. As a result, writing has been a bit difficult for me. And on a (slightly) unrelated note, this story probably won't be updated for a few weeks. Why? Life happened again, unfortunately. It's not very pleasant. **

**But thank you so very much for reading! And if you would be ever so kind, please review? It might help the next chapter come faster (winkwinknudgenudge).**

**Live long and prosper!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **

**Holla!**

**Right. I'll never say that again.**

**It's been a lovely week, hasn't it? And by that I mean I hate people and I just want to become a hermit. Apparently gymnastics coaches find that amusing. **

**But hey, we're people of the internet! We're all hermits, in a way!**

**But that's why I've written a whole bunch this week, so more updates!**

**That's to my lovely betas Luh13 and AgentInvaderMinionofDoom.**

**BIG thank you to the reviewers from last chapter: latest-blooming-sakura-blossom, JollyRoger1, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, JustANerdyGirl, PenandPaper83, rycbarm123, and TheDoctor'sBiggestFanStarrojas. You are all utterly fabulous and I can't thank you enough!**

**P.S.: So the last chapter didn't get the best response. I had a lot to put it in there so I tried something new, but now I'm back to the old format since that seems to work better for this story. Comments? Then please drop a review **

**Leggo, homies!**

He was brought back to consciousness with what seemed to be a blow to the head. What else would explain the massive headache he had? _Oh Rassilon, the pain-it's as bad as regeneration. Wait, am I regenerating?_

He bent forward to look at himself, searching for any sign of gold, but all he got was a wave of nausea. _Shouldn't have moved then._ He lay back down, and stared at the ceiling. _Right, I'm in the TARDIS. Med Bay by the looks of it. But how did I get-AH! _He was hit by another wave of pain from his head. But it kept coming, more and more crashing into him until he thought regenerating was the only option.

Then it hit him.

All the memories from the day before came rushing back in a flood, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. If his mind was a damn, then that flood bloody broke down the walls and in came all the pain, both physically and emotionally and it _just wouldn't stop._

Over and over, the loss and pain and regret and grief as everything bad that ever happened was happening all at once.

The onslaught of memories stopped, but the pain remained. The Doctor sat up, ignoring the stabbing in his head, and resolved to do the one thing that would end it.

It was _just too much_ and he needed to stop it and at this point he would do anything. He didn't care if that meant ripping apart the multiverse; he just needed it because he never wanted to feel like this again. He had gone far too long without it and it just wasn't _fair._

Didn't he stop the Time War? Saved all of creation? Didn't he dedicate his eternity to saving the mundane lives of all the species around him?

Then he _damn well_ deserved it, and if the universe wasn't just going to give it to him, then he would take it. By any means necessary he was getting it back. It was his and his alone and _nothing_ was going to stop him.

He pushed himself off the bed, readjusted his bowtie, and set off with purpose. Out of all of his amazing (if he said so himself) feats, this was going to be the greatest yet.

He set off to the Console Room and tried to start up the sequence, but remembered that he had another passenger on board. He might be trying to rip across the fabric of the universe, but it still wouldn't do any good if there was collateral damage. Namely**,** an unconscious companion on board because she had hit her head. Might as well pop over and tell her to hold on tight!

He strolled off toward her room, but it seemed the fight from earlier wasn't over. The pain in his head increased with every step he took, replaying those horrible days over and over again. It was getting harder to walk now and despite his respiratory bypass system, he was panting. Just a few meters away, he dropped to his knees, the pain becoming too much to bear.

But that's when he smelled it**,** that distinct, salty scent that's only found in one type of place. And that's what gave him the strength to pull himself back up, remembering that this was going to take the pain away, and never again would he have to feel that loss.

Some of the anger had subsided before, but now it was back in full force, stronger than ever. He barged into Clara's room, not wanting to waste time. It would all be over, soon.

"We're going to get Rose Tyler."

* * *

Clara blanched. "You can't, she's in the other-"

"I know damn well where she is!" he screamed. The Doctor stalked towards her, a manic gleam in his eye.

"Doctor?" Clara mentally cringed at how shaky her voice was. But really, she couldn't help it. This was downright terrifying. He looked dazed, and his skin was clammy. She didn't even know Time Lords could sweat. But going to get Rose, after all this time? That machine must've hurt him worse than she thought. As much as she was trying to get Rose back, he obviously wasn't in his right mind. He was likely to do more damage than good.

"I'm going back to get her, Clara. There's nothing you can do to stop me." Whirling around, he made his way to the door.

Somehow, she found the courage to speak. "Then why did you come here?"

He turned around slowly, a crazy grin on his face. "I only popped in to tell you to hold on. It's going to be a bumpy ride!"

Clara stood stunned for a few moments, before running after him. "Doctor! Doctor, you can't!" She finally managed to catch up to him in the Console Room. "Doctor, you're still sick from the machine-"

"I'm not sick! Is it sick to feel this way about someone? Is it sick to feel like you can't live another day without someone, to literally miss someone with every fiber of your being, to love? Of course it isn't! So I'm going back to her, and if you're going to try and stop me then you can get the hell out of my TARDIS!" He panted, before shifting his manic expression into a cold, hard glare.

"Doctor, I'm just trying to help you here."

He gave a humourless laugh. "No, I don't think you are."

"Doctor, I really am! You said you couldn't go back for her!"

"I was wrong. I can do anything**;** I'm the Doctor!" He paused. "No, no I'm not. I'm not the Doctor."

"Of course you are!" Clara was confused and scared. Now he doesn't even know who he is?

"I'm not the Doctor. I'm so much more than that. I'm the winner; I'm the Time Lord Victorious. So watch me claim my spoils!"

"Just what the hell are you doing?"

He turned towards her, the manic gleam back in his eyes. "I'm going to rip apart the fabric of the universes, and I will destroy anyone in my way." He turned back to the console, a dark smile lighting up his face. Clara wanted to bring Rose back, but whatever he was doing obviously wasn't going to be good for anyone. He's probably going to kill us both!

"Geronimo!" And with that, he slammed his fist down on a button.

The TARDIS began to shake, and the lights flickered. Clara grabbed onto the nearest rail for support, and then suddenly the lights went out. When they turned back on, the Doctor was in a pile on the floor.

"Doctor!" she cried, running over to him. She felt a pulse, but he was out cold. She massaged her temples, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do, when the strangest thing happened: a telephone rang.

* * *

Jack drummed his fingers on the bar, waiting for someone to pick up. _Come on, pick up. _His eyes darted every few seconds to the guards, making sure they were still there. After several antagonizing long moments, someone picked up. "Hello?" Female. He hoped the timing wasn't messed up.

"This is Captain Jack Harkness. As sweet as your voice sounds, is the Doctor around by any chance?"

"Jack! It's me, Clara! Look, something's happened and I need help." Jack set his cup back down, and a small smile began to spread across his face. _Finally, some action._

"What can I do for you, babe?"

"We went to this strange planet, and they made the Doctor relive his worst memories." Something tickled at the back of his mind, but he wasn't sure what exactly. "Then he went on a rampage, and said he's going to get back Rose." Jack stood up, eyes trained on the guards, who were fiddling with something on their wrists.

"Yeah?"

"And I'm not entirely sure what he did, but he said he would tear apart the universes if he needed to, and now we've landed somewhere."

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the bartender pull something out of his pocket. "Damn, not aga-"

As he was saying this, the bartender was shouting something at the guards, who teleported away before Jack could stop them. The bartender then turned the gun on Jack and shot. _Well, there goes my not-dying streak._

He woke up a few minutes later on the ground, surrounded by a crowd of aliens staring at him with wide eyes. As he started to move he heard several screams, and he was pretty sure more than a few of the onlookers fainted.

One voice sounded different than the rest, though. It kept saying his name, over and over-oh. Right. I'm still on the middle of a call.

He pushed himself off the ground, picked up his phone, and exited the bar, sending a few winks along the way. "Sorry, I just died for a minute there." He said trying to be impressive.

"My god! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, happens all the time. So, where are you now? Pete's World?"

"What's Pete's World?" _Right, he probably never told her the name._

"It's what we call the universe Rose is in. Long story. So, are you there?"

"I don't know, I haven't left the TARDIS! I'm just sitting next to a knocked-out Time Lord!"

Jack chuckled, imagining the undoubtedly hilarious sight. "Well, go out and take a look."

"What would it look like?"

"Just the same, but with a ton of zeppelins in the sky instead of planes. Don't ask."

"Alright, but are you sure it's safe?" Jack made his way to a dark alley, setting the coordinates back to Cardiff so he could work on the manipulator until the Doctor came to pick him up. If he ever picked him up. And if the alien wanted to know what the guards had said, then he was damn well going to bring Jack along.

"Course it is. Rose lives there, doesn't she?"

"Right. Good point." He heard footsteps, and a door opening. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"We're just in Cardiff."

* * *

Jackie woke up bright and early at 12 in the afternoon. Try telling her that was sleeping in-it would only give you an earful. She rolled out of bed, tugged on a dressing gown, and made her way downstairs. It was extremely quiet, a sound very unusual to the house. Jackie had given the household staff the week off so that she could spend more time with Rose, which was sorely needed. Speaking of which…

"Rose, where are you?" No answer. Strange, her daughter would usually be up and about by now. Maybe those nightmares had really gotten to her this morning.

Jackie sighed and made her way down to the kitchen. Nothing could perk up someone better than a good breakfast. She set to work on eggs and bacon whilst whistling to herself. It was a catchy tune she had picked up from one of Rose and John's science fiction movies. Something about red blobs and people with pointy ears. She never could understand what the pair saw in all that stuff. It was incredibly boring.

But the new Twilight movie, now there was something interesting. So what if everyone in her family scoffed at it? It was _so_ romantic! And the bloke in it was quite fetching. Jackie pulled out her mobile and starting watching the movie again.

She was just getting to the good part-the werewolf was shirtless, again, when she smelled something funny. Jackie looked up, and seconds later the alarm went off. There goes breakfast, again. She knew she should've kept the cook.

Jackie set about making breakfast (brunch, really) again. She felt Rose could use a nice, hot meal after what she's going through. Why couldn't her daughter have a normal life?

That bloody Doctor had to come and ruin everything. Even now, in a different dimension, her daughter was still in trouble. She had half a mind to break down the walls or whatever it was and give him a piece of her mind.

Still, she knew that the Doctor had given her family back, and given Rose happiness in the form of John. Who really was the Doctor, she supposed after all. Just with a few quirks. One of them being his overprotectiveness about Rose, he was much more open with his affection with her this time. He even insisted that Jackie call him with updates on his wife while he was away. It was a much better story than that sci-fi movie they made her watch. Almost as good as that Twilight movie.

Jackie managed to cook-not burn-the breakfast this time, and prepared a tray from Rose. The clock struck one as she was loading it up**,** the time John had requested she call him. It was rather unusual, but he had mentioned something about time zones and she really didn't bother to listen.

She made her way up the stairs, tray in one hand and mobile in the other.

"You've reached John Smith**;** leave a message! I'll try to get back to you, but if I don't, you're probably boring or I don't feel like it."

"Listen, you bloody alien, I've been calling every day, just as you asked mister, so the least you can do is pick up. I think Rose is still in bed; I'm bringing up a tray to her right-what the hell?" Jackie noticed a piece of Rose's clothing on the staircase. She looked up, and saw the rest of her clothes from yesterday scattered along the way.

"Missy, this had better not be what I think it is! And in my house too! After everything you did to get back to your bloody Doctor, this is how you act?" Jackie stomped up the stairs preparing to give her daughter a piece of her mind, when she noticed something shiny: Rose's TARDIS key. She never took the thing off.

Jackie raised her gaze, and screamed at the sight of a pile of skin-coloured goo in the middle of the stairs.

**A/N: So I just heard the coolest thing! If you review, then David Tennant shows up at your doorstep with cookies. Or John Barrowman. Whatever your fancy.**

**If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey! Do you lot still remember this story?**

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've just been so busy with practice and everything, and when I have had time to write, I've been so tired that I didn't have the slightest inclination to do so.**

**Then I got sick. So I wrote.**

**Anyways, thank you to my beta Luh13. She's the cat's pajamas. Did I use that correctly?**

**Also, thank you so, so very much to the following people for reviewing: JustANerdyGirl, greeneyesCutie, JollyRoger1, Bookworm64, saxon-for-mayor, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, rycbarm123, H3LLOmynameiskibs, seablue4u, blazinglizard09, hshinnerl, Kirsten904, TheDoctor'sBiggestFanStarrojas, Henny14, stalkingu, Kage Kyuubi no Kitsune, JKiloveyou5, and all of the guest reviewers. I try to reply to all of you, but I just can't thank you enough. It seriously means so much to me!**

**BIG: As I write this, 'Just One Yesterday' has gotten 99 reviews. **_**Ninety nine.**_** Can you believe it? I certainly can't! This is freaking amazing! I never thought this story would become popular or read by anyone at all, so thank you to everyone who has alerted/favourited/reviewed this story. Thank you so, so very much.**

**PS: As a little apology for make you wait so long, I threw in something I was saving for later. But I thought you could use it now. Review?**

He may be an impossible fact of time, but he still has dreams.

Like the totally screwed up ones that you have whilst sleeping. He figured out a long time ago that dreams of the future weren't worth shit.

He has nightmares a lot, obviously. I mean, he's lived and died for centuries. Everyone he ever loved has been lost, along with everything he ever hoped to be. He'd seen and done so many things. Of course the memories would feel the need to play themselves on repeat while his subconscious took over.

But sometimes he had pleasant ones. Not those, well _yeah_, but that wasn't what he was referring to. No, sometimes he relives the good days. His childhood, family, times with friends. And some of his happiest moments were back during his time on the TARDIS. Good friends and plenty of adventure: the perfect mix. His time at Torchwood had been great, yeah, but as much as he loved his family there, it just wasn't the same. They didn't quite understand him. Plus, their technology was _so bad_ it wasn't even funny. I mean seriously; they were an organization dedicated to preventing alien attacks. You'd think they could get some better stuff.

Back when he was younger, hurt but still so full of hope, he used to have dreams. And not just the sleeping kind. He dreamed of helping people, of doing whatever was needed to get back onto the TARDIS. Almost as if he had to do his punishment, but for what he didn't know.

He dreamt of dying. Proper dying; the kind you don't wake up from. After realizing he was forever stranded in time, always being forced to come back to the harsh world that is reality; this became his one secret wish. Because eternity is just too long.

Once he had accepted the fact that he couldn't die, he dreamt of a world where his ability wasn't such a curse. He dreamed of traversing the universe and all of time with the Doctor and Rose again. He dreamed of seeing places he never could've imagined. He dreamed of a time where he was accepted, and maybe one day he would find a love like the couple's.

But after realizing that they weren't coming back for him, he gave up such foolish dreaming. It was the stuff of naïve minds that could fool themselves into thinking their wildest thoughts might come true. They didn't realize that every day was a battle, and the only ones who survived were soldiers.

He was never one to stay on the sideline.

And that became his new way of life; forcing himself to keep going for decades. Living day after day, becoming more and more jaded. He was turning into those people he used to hate; the miserable old sods who thought the universe cheated them. But really, it was only the protector of the universe who took everything away. He grew colder, and realized that he placed too much blame on the Doctor. It was just life. Life was royally screwed up, and that was about it. There was nothing he could do but wait for the universe to end, and maybe then this thing would finally be over.

But then, when all seemed lost, a girl popped up on his TV. And he felt this little nudge at the back of his brain. At first, he didn't know what it was. But he soon figured out it was something he thought he lost long ago: hope. And when Clara told him they were in Cardiff it grew stronger.

Exciting as that was the thought still scared him, because honestly, he didn't want to have his heart broken again.

Melodramatic? Maybe. But things were always over the top with the Doctor. He wasn't in love with him, obviously, but he didn't want to deal with the pain of being abandoned again. Coming from your closest friends, it really did break a man's heart.

But this time was going to be different. He was going to rescue Rose Tyler: his friend and creator. And when it was over, he wasn't going to turn down the offer.

He was taking his life back.

That's why he went back to his house in Cardiff, mixed up two drinks, and put them in thermoses. He had a feeling they were going to need them.

* * *

Jack had told her to wait for him to get there.

She hated waiting. It always made her feel so useless. There was nothing else to do though, so she did just that. But as the minutes passed, she started to panic. What if he didn't show up? What if _he_ woke up? What the hell was she supposed to do?

And the TARDIS wasn't of much use either. She wouldn't tell her what was wrong, and all rooms were blocked off. The lights had dimmed and occasionally sputtered. Clara felt trapped.

She sighed and cradled the Doctor's head. He may have completely lost it earlier and almost killed them both, but he was still her friend and in his unconscious state he looked almost child-like. The years of pain had been removed from his face, and, for once, he looked at peace. He was like a completely different man.

But the whole episode had her thinking. The Doctor had said that it was impossible to cross universes without them collapsing. Yet he had just tried to get to Rose. If it was so impossible, then why had he just done it? He had obviously failed, but he had tried.

That could mean only one thing: it wasn't impossible after all.

It was probably extremely risky, and with a huge likelihood that both universes would collapse, but it wasn't impossible. And that was a start.

If the Doctor knew how to get there, then maybe she could find a way to get there safely. She _did_ have Jack and the TARDIS on her side after all. And sometimes all you needed was a fresh take on things. You know, once Jack got there and they could figure out what's wrong with the TARDIS. But still.

There was still a piece missing from the puzzle, something that was eluding both her and the Doctor. But she couldn't exactly do anything about it, and the TARDIS wasn't any help. Honestly, if she really wanted to get Rose back then she should be more open with the people trying to make that happen. _Bloody time machines._

The TARDIS doors flying open interrupted her thoughts. From her position on the floor and in the dark room, she could make out a dark shape coming closer at an alarming speed. "I thought no one was supposed to get in? What happened to the defenses?" she mentally yelled up at the ceiling. But the only reply was the twinkling of the lights of one of the Gallifreyan writings on top of the console. _Bloody TARDIS, _she thought.

"Who are you?" she asked worriedly

The dark shape grew steadily closer, until it came into the TARDIS and Clara got a good look at it. At the sight of Jack's face, she let out an audible sigh of relief. He wore a long, dark coat, suspenders (_so that's where the Doctor got it from_), and a grin. Definitely still handsome, but she could see lines etched onto his face that weren't there when she was with his younger self.

He walked up to her; the grin widening with every step he took.

"Captain Jack Harkness, it's good to finally meet you Clara." Jack sat down next to her and handed her one of the thermoses. "It's a drink, don't worry, nothing that isn't from your time. But I figured you could use one."

She nodded gratefully and took a sip. Honestly, after the recent events, she deserved one. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem. I live here, you know." She looked up at him.

"What, here? In Cardiff?"

"Yeah, have been for a while now."

"But…it's Cardiff!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Shouldn't you live in….I don't know, America? Or at least someplace interesting?" Jack gave her a strange look.

"He never told you?"

"He never told me what?"

"Cardiff runs on a Rift. It's basically a tear in time and space. But because of that, lots of people want the power from it that shouldn't have it. We attract a lot of strange stuff around here."

"Oh. That explains so much from the news, looking back now."

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, the earthquakes are never really earthquakes. Actually, that's pretty much true for lots of places around the world. You'd be surprised."

"Oh god, I don't even want to think about it. Sometimes the less you really know, the better."

Jack nodded and took another sip, Clara mirroring his actions. "So, wanna run me through what happened?"

She hesitated. Clara couldn't tell him about his past self, but she couldn't just say the Doctor snapped. Well, she supposed she could, but if he was really injured then lying about it wouldn't help anything. So she bent the truth a bit; she told Jack that he was forced to relive his worst memories on a random planet. But it was alright, because they had stopped them. And then the Doctor had gone on a rampage, and they ended up where they were now.

At the end of the story, Jack whistled. "Wow, that's quite an adventure."

"I prefer to think of it as a nightmare."

"Well I can guarantee you, she's feeling way worse," he replied, gesturing towards the TARDIS console.

"How d'you mean?"

"Well, it's not easy to cross universes. I heard that last time, the Doctor crashed through them and had to use ten years of his life as energy."

"But surely ten years of his life wasn't that much to him."

Jack shrugged. "Well yeah, but the point still stands. That's why you're here, I guess."

"What?"

"Well, the TARDIS probably was a bit low on fuel. The Doctor tried to crash through, and the TARDIS became completely depleted."

"I still don't understand why we're here."

"Remember what I was saying about the Rift? The TARDIS runs off of energy from it."

"Are you serious? The _TARDIS_ runs off of something in Cardiff?"

Jack chuckled and gave her a look. "Well, there's lots of these Rifts scattered. It just so happens that Cardiff is the TARDIS's favorite, I guess. The Doctor doesn't like to stop here all too often."

"Why? I mean he goes to London all the time. Why not Cardiff?"

Jack's eyes darkened. "Memories here, I guess. Who knows. Anyways," he jumped up and clapped his hands. "Let's see what I can do to fix you, Old Girl." Jack stroked the TARDIS console, which lit up underneath his hands. "Just what I thought." He pulled out tools from a compartment in the Console, and started working.

"What are you doing?" Jack looked back at the Doctor, as if making sure he was still unconscious.

"Just fixing some things. Plus, I'll open her up so she can charge."

"Won't she try to go to the other universe then?"

Jack gave her a sad look. "No, she's way too smart for that. It's dangerous, Clara. And it really should not be done. It's not just our lives in danger."

"I thought you were trying to help me bring Rose back!"

"Of course I am! She's like a sister to me. I care for her more than you do for the Doctor, and we have been through more than you can imagine. It hurts me to know that she's stuck so far away. But until we can find a safe way, we're just going to fix up the TARDIS." He gave a final adjustment to a screw. "There. All done, for now. Come on, I know a great place not too far from here that serves a _mean _American-style burger." Jack made his way to the door.

"What about the Doctor? We can't just leave him here." He stopped at her words, but didn't turn around.

"Look, I know you're concerned for him, but he'll be fine. He's a Time Lord, Clara. Not human. The TARDIS won't let him anywhere even if he does wake up, and she told me it probably wouldn't be for a while. And she doesn't like people messing around while she's charging. There's nothing we can do but wait. So, burger?"

Clara looked down at the Doctor, and up at Jack. His logic was sound, but she still didn't want to leave him. _What if he just flies off? At the state he was in earlier, I wouldn't put it past him._ The TARDIS nudged her mind, and so she gently placed the Doctor back down on the floor.

"Alright then, I'm starving."

* * *

In a land far away, all was not well. Above ground, the site appeared to be an old abandoned building. But underneath, it was a gleaming silver institution. It was a brightly lit place, and the fluorescent lighting never failed to make someone look ill. But for anyone who stayed long at the place, they appeared sickly anyways.

You see, this was not a very nice place to be. The institution preached "hope" and "progress", but they didn't help anyone. They tested on beings of all species in the hopes of achieving progress for themselves.

The institution was secure. Not very many people knew of the location, but if they did, no one really cared. Why should they? It didn't affect them anyway. No, the institution was known for technology and medical advancement. Not human experimentation (although not just humans were experimented on). No one had dared breached the institution, and, other than the occasional rowdy patient or discovery, nothing much happened.

In fact, much of the research there was at a dead end. But rather than risk termination of the projects, or releasing them to the outside world, they merely stayed in chambers, some long forgotten. Others were remembered and constantly attended, but no one expected anything to happen.

Really, you would expect so much from a place of such former repute. But the truth was; they were all washed out. They had wasted so much time and money on a failed project in the past, and now they were forgotten.

Every day was the same. Some of the workers even thought of it as a glorified nursing home.

But one day, things changed. The failed project from the past began to…react. It was previously thought of comatose, and no one knew what could happen if it ever woke up. It was constantly medicated and checked on, because it was too valuable to let go. But research on it had gone nowhere. It was merely a prize.

But the project was screaming in its 'sleep', and the mental readings were off the charts. No one knew why it happened, and no one knew how to stop it. The only person that could possibly help was the only one that would stop everything. And the institution couldn't afford either one of the options.

They tried to stop it, and doubled the meds. Eventually the project calmed down, but its mental readings weren't like before. Instead, it appeared to be slowly waking up. Scientists from far ends of the institution were called in, but none knew what to do. In fact, most seemed to be surprised at the existence of the project.

"Astounding," some said. "Horrific," said others.

But as much as they tried, they couldn't find a solution. The project was simply monitored, waiting for the inevitable.

In the middle of the night on a planet far away from home, Rose Tyler opened her eyes.

**A/N: So, last time I said if you reviewed David Tennant or John Barrowman would show up at your doorstep with cookies. This week, we have Benedict Cumberbatch or Tom Hiddleston. Your choice people, but I don't blame you for wanting both!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:**

**Hey, people *gives nervous smile*. Still remember this story?**

**Haha…haha…ha….**

**I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. And I'd give you excuses but I doubt you'd want to hear them (if you actually do, then just mention it in a review or something? Please?).**

**BIG NEWS PEOPLE: I GOTS A TUMBLR. THAT'S RIGHT. NOW YOU CAN FOLLOW ME STRANGENESS AND CHARM AND SEND ME ANONYMOUS MESSAGES WHEN I TAKE WAY TOO LONG TO UPDATE. My username is the same as this one (imsuchanut). So, follow me?**

**I'm throwing this in the middle where hopefully people won't see, but this chapter is kinda a bunch of fillers. Sorry. I promise, there will be action next time! Feel free to yell at me…on tumblr….**

**Unfortunately, my lovely beta Luh13 is sick. Horrible, right? So she only could do the first part. Which is why the rest of the chapter will suck worse than usual. Everyone send her get well wishes!**

**Thank you to the following people for reviewing: The Animanga Girl, Grim2000, TheChildOfTheTardis, Starcrystal8, seablue4u, Bookworm64, DestinChild, snowy scarf, Kirsten904, supernena25, , JollyRoger1, Henny14, AwesomePossum123, rycbarm123, JustANerdyGirl, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, and all of the guest reviewers. If you've reviewed before, then you know (probably) that I (try to) reply to every review I get. But my email went a bit off-kilter, and so things got a bit messed up. Sorry if I didn't reply, I really am thankful for your review!**

**Ready?**

_Oh, God._

_It couldn't be- what the hell was that?_

She was struggling for air and could hear the blood in her head pounding harder than ever. She couldn't be near it; whatever it was. It couldn't be her. _That… That thing wasn't my Rose._

Rose wasn't a pile of goo on the stairs.

Jackie scrambled to get away, eyes trained on the goo at all times. But in her attempts to flee, she forgot where she was. She tripped and fell down the stairs, screaming the whole way.

The hard wood did nothing to cushion her fall, and she could feel her whole body bruising as she landed. The world around her was spinning violently, and as she tried to sit up everything dissolved into a blur of colours. Lifting her head hurt too much, so she laid it back down, and slowly she drifted into unconsciousness.

Jackie woke up to a curious ringing sound. It was familiar, she knew that, but she couldn't place it. She opened her eyes, and saw that she was on the floor. _Must've had a bit too much last night, then._ She pushed herself up, and winced at the pounding in her hand and the soreness of her arms. _What the bloody hell had happened?_

She gingerly pushed herself off the ground, using the banister as support. The ringing sound continued, making her aching head hurt worse. She massaged her temples, praying to whatever god was out there that it would stop. Miraculously, it did. _Only for another bloody annoying sound to start._ But this one was closer, and she bloody knew what it was: her phone. Only a couple feet away, placed precariously on a step was one of her most prized possessions.

She clambered up to her phone, sitting down when she finally reached it. "Hello?"

"Jackie? Are you all right? I've been ringing the doorbell for the past ten minutes, and there was no answer on the landline." Right, it was Maureen. The cook. She could bloody well use some food right now, given the state she was in. _God, Rose and I must've had the whole store last night!_

_Rose._

Jackie pulled herself up again, only to feel weak at the knees and plopped back down. There was still that strange puddle of goo surrounded by Rose's clothing.

The previous events came flooding back to her, and, if it was possible, her head throbbed even harder. "Jackie? Are you there?"

"Right, I don't actually need you today, Maureen. Rose and I want some more time to ourselves. Sorry! But I'll see you soon. Maybe then you can make your treacle tart?"

"Yeah, if you-"

"Bye, Maureen!" She ended the call before any sort of real conversation could start. She didn't need Maureen to come in and see this. The staff was well aware of the strange things that went on with the family, but turning into goo had to top the list. No need for them to see any of that.

But there was another call that had to be made. "Pete? I need you to come home right away. I…well I guess it's an emergency. Rose? Pete…" she let out a sob, "I don't know what's wrong with her! No, you have to be here to see for yourself. Don't tell anyone what's happening, alright? I love you, too."

The line went dead, leaving Jackie feeling empty inside. Pete had said he'd be home within the hour, but that was still a very long time. She was scared, and felt so very, very alone. She reached over and picked up Rose's TARDIS key. Jackie stroked the smooth metal, feeling the small grooves and bumps Because it was one of her most prized possessions; something Rose never took off, it made her feel closer to her daughter. Whatever had happened, whether or not she was still alive; she wanted to feel close to her. She could almost see Rose holding the key, smiling as she turned the TARDIS lock. Strangely enough, the key felt like her too- it was warm.

* * *

Jack had to be the strangest man she'd ever met.

_No_, she thought, shaking her head. _The Doctor takes that spot. But Jack's pretty damn close._

Despite having met him before, she still didn't quite know what to make of him. He could switch from being an outrageous flirt, to moody and depressed, to a bloody wanker. But he was a good man, overall. Jack was generally very pleasant to be around. And not _just_ because of his flirting.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her across the street. "You ready for the best burger of your life?" He shot her a winning smile that made Clara wonder just what exactly the fifty-first century was like.

"Well that's a pretty high goal, isn't it?"

He chuckled. "Well this place certainly meets it. Warm, flavorful, juicy—everything you could ever want."

"In that case, I'm looking forward to it."

Jack leaned in towards her and wiggled his eyebrows. "That's the spirit!" He pulled her by the hand for a few blocks, half running and always laughing. His smile was infectious, and it seemed to brighten the moods of everyone wherever he met. Jack honestly was like a ray of sunshine, cheesy as that sounds.

They reached the restaurant with ruddy cheeks, heaving chests, and bright faces. After leaning over against the wall for a few moments, he straightened himself up and pulled open the door. "After you, m'lady?"

"Why thank you, kind sir." He sent her a wink and Clara was pretty sure he was checking her out from behind as she walked in, but she found she didn't care. Maybe it was because of his personality, or the fact that he was attractive, but either way he had managed to completely lift her spirits after the Doctor. And anyone who could do that couldn't possibly be half-bad.

_Besides, he even pulled out my chair for me._

The waiter handed them menus, but Jack threw his back on the table without even opening it. When Clara sent him a quizzical look, he said, "I come her all the time. It's like a piece of home with easy access. You know, since I can't exactly cook."

"Really? After what, centuries of being alive? You can't cook? Come on Jack, even the Doctor can do that." She might've imagined it, but she thought she saw something in his eyes flash at the mention of the alien's name. But Jack threw on another one of his infectious grins, washing away any concerns.

"Nah, never got around to it. I was always busy doing…more important things." God, she was so making the Doctor take her to the 50th century.

"Well then tell me what's good here."

Jack leaned forward, and his joking demeanor fell a bit. "Do you trust me?" Clara got the feeling he was asking about more than just food recommendations. The question made her hesitate for a moment—there was still so much she didn't know about him. Plus, he worked for Torchwood now. And he seemed to harbour some resentment towards the Doctor.

But then there was Rose. He loved her like family, and he'd help get her back, right? Besides, he had less reason to trust Clara than she him. After all, she just popped on his telly and asked him to help with an impossible task.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

He gave a small smile, so unlike the flirtatious ones of just a few minutes ago that it was hard to believe that this was still the same conversation.

"Well, isn't that fantastic!" He said it in a way that made Clara feel like she was missing out on some kind of joke. "In that case, I say get the Classic. Never mess with tradition, you know what I mean?"

_No, no she did not._

There was something different in his voice and a strange feeling in the air that made it seem like he wasn't just talking about the burger. It left Clara wondering if that Jack was to be trusted after all.

* * *

It's a warm, summer evening.

Well, he says summer, and it would be considered summer weather had they been on Earth. But they're on the planet Gryffin and it's always sunny.

And it's not technically evening, either. Well, according to her biological clock it is, but on the planet it's only early morning.

But it's warm! He got that part correct.

Speaking of warm…

Her hand is clasped tightly in his, and he grins down at her, squeezing a little tighter. Her constant warmth always reassures him of her presence, always makes him feel safe. His pink and yellow human, always soft and warm.

_Where would I be without her?_

_No. We will not go down that road. Today is a great day, a happy day, and I'm not going to ruin it with thoughts like that._

"Doctor, what's wrong?" _Damn. There it was. _She always could read him like a book.

"What? Nothing's wrong? Well, I say nothing, when really there's a looming war with the neighboring planet, Salazar, but other than that everything's fine! Just dandy!" She frowned at him and began to pull her hand out of his, but he held on tightly and used it to turn her to face him. "Rose. I promise, nothing is wrong."

"Then why'd you have that look on your face?"

_Bloody hell. I really can't keep anything from her. It's worth a try though, isn't it_? "What look? It's just my normal, sexy face. You know, sideburns, bad skin, and the glasses?" She gives him another look. _Right. So it wasn't worth a try after all._ "I was just thinking-"

"Doctor, we're having a wonderful day. Don't ruin it with those kinds of thoughts. We're here, we're together, nothings gonna happen, yeah?" He entwines their other hand and uses it to pull her closer to him. Close enough that he could almost pretend they were together, but not at the point where she would get suspicious.

"Yeah, just you and me. The way it always should be." He gave her a crooked grin that she returned with a beaming smile. "Rose Tyler, I want to show you to most fantastic place. It's called the Hollow, and you're absolutely going to love it! I mean really. Imagine English country village mixed with the medieval times with a bit of alien culture thrown in. Allons-y!" He dragged her by the hand down a cobblestoned street.

He looked back at her and met her gaze, only to run straight into a pole. But still, he made her laugh. And the pole wasn't even _that_ hard. Or so he told himself.

They followed the signs to the Hollow, which was exactly the way the Doctor had described it. He looked over at Rose, his hearts flipping at the sight. He loved it when she was impressed. What could he say? He really was an egotistical man. And impressing Rose Tyler? Well, that shot his ego right through the roof.

Especially since he was a bloody awful driver and often managed to get them into sticky situations. _Now that I think about it, several of them were in fact sticky._ _Like that time on the planet Miel with the honey. And the time on Jif with the marshmallow fluff. And the swamps on Candyland. And_—he was pulled out of his thoughts by Rose dragging him to the stalls. Not that he minded being dragged by her. On the contrary, really. He was just surprised. And a bit jealous, when the salesman looked like that guy from some Disney musical about basketball.

"What are these?" she asked as she picked up a small vial of neon fluid.

"They are tonics. Two sickled per bottle."

"Tonics? What for?"

The salesman gave her a sleazy grin, and held up the pink one. "Amortentia. It makes you more attractive, so that you will be the apple of everyone's eye." Next was purple one. The Doctor could see Rose getting increasingly bored with the spiel. "This one makes you sleepy." Then the yellow one. "This one will make you lucky." He picked up a green one next. "This one-"

"Right, well actually I think I don't need any tonics today. Right, Doctor? Thanks anyways!" She pulled him over to a nearby booth, bumping into a middle-aged man and a woman along the way. "Sorry! I didn't see you there!"

The man turned around. He fixed the couple with a strange look, not that they could see. Rose was staring at some scarves, and the Doctor at her. The man tugged the woman's sleeve, gesturing towards the couple. They stared, and the Doctor swore he could feel someone looking at him. But when he turned around, all he saw was a busy street full of people.

**A/N: So this has become a thing now, due to a large positive response. If you review, you get either Jensen Ackles or Jared Padalecki to show up at your doorstep with cookies. Your choice….**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey, babes. So in case you didn't hear….**

**I GOT A TUMBLR.**

**That means follow me, homies (imsuchanut). Because it's so easy and y'all can message me, yell at me to update, or prompt me (please please pretty please) and I promise I'll do it within a couple hours. Unless I'm at school (actually maybe, because I tend to use my phone a lot). So, please?**

**Thanks to my beta, Luh13. She's a gem.**

**Also, thank you to the following people for reviewing last chapter: StryderMel, Tatalindx, BAsupporter, kortiz123456, seablue4u (you are such an angel), JollyRoger1 (as are you), greeneyesCutie (I hope you got caught up!), MirrorFlower and DarkWind, hshinnerl, GryffindorGrl97, Elfdrake, katarina97, and all of the guest reviewers. I cannot thank you enough for reviewing. You really are awesome **

**There's a lot of different parts to this story. So, here's a part you really haven't heard yet. Because I do love 10 and Rose. So very much. Lemme know if you want more of them, or if I should write the rest from different characters. Hope y'all enjoy! And if you did (or didn't, I'm not picky and I'd love to know why), drop a review? XX**

He was a coward.

An utter, disgraceful mess.

God, he didn't even deserve her. She could do so much better than him. She was clever and kind and beautiful, and saved him more than he liked to think about. All he did in return was put her in danger. He really couldn't blame her if she decided to go. Any rational person in her position would.

But the thought of her leaving made his hearts clench.

No. She couldn't leave. That was _not_ an option. He could not lose _her_, too.

The Doctor paced back and forth in the TARDIS kitchen, weighing his options.

He had to do this. Not just for him, but for her. It wasn't fair to keep playing this game of cat-and-mouse. It was driving him crazy, and it had to be bothering her too.

But every time he tried to do something about it, he chickened out. He could always put it off, wait a little longer. What were a few more days, when this had been going on for years?

No. That was absolutely ridiculous. Preposterous. He knew what he had to do.

The Doctor checked his hair in the reflection of the fridge, before sprinting through the hallways. He skidded to a stop outside her room, and threw open the door; the sight of Rose Tyler painting her toes on her bed greeted him.

He threw her a grin and sat down next to her on the bed, ignoring her cries about 'varnish' and 'feet'. "Rose Tyler, get your coat! We're going out!" He stalked away before she could ask any questions, or he could wimp out of doing it. This was going to happen, right now. He plugged the coordinates into the TARDIS whilst doing some sort of dance, filled with willpower he didn't even know he had.

As he tugged the last lever and sent the TARDIS flying, he wore the biggest grin on his face.

XX

They returned to the TARDIS hours later, the Doctor with his arms around Rose to support her in her drowsy state. He fumbled for the key in his pocket, and Rose yawning and curling her head in his shoulder only made the task more difficult. He got the doors open with a loud 'Aha!' but his companion was already falling asleep on him.

Which was nice, really. But he would've preferred her falling asleep on him someplace else.

Like a bed.

After going on a different sort of adventure.

But the feel of her curled into him was far too good to complain about.

The Doctor walked Rose to her room, gently shaking her shoulder once they arrived. She didn't seem to want to release him. Instead, when he tried to pry her off she merely tightened her grip. Her made out a small 'don't go' coming from the blonde, and it made his stomach clench, but he had to leave.

Today had been enough of a tease.

His plan started out wonderfully, really. He brought them to the planet Gryffin, a beautiful, romantic place he was sure she would've loved. And she did, honestly. They stayed there for hours, shopping, sightseeing, and watched a fireworks show. It left her completely tuckered out (not him, he had superior Time Lord biology).

He checked (and double-checked) the date and place to make sure nothing was going to ruin the day. He tried not to think depressing thoughts about losing her and thereby ruin the mood. He stayed clear of anything that could be trouble _just in case_, and he shut his gob to avoid causing any.

Perfect date, was it not?

Totally fool-proof. Or Time Lord-proof.

He had planned to kiss her under the fireworks. Really, he did. But he couldn't shake this feeling that they were being watched.

He knew that sounded like an awful excuse.

But he was a _Time Lord_. He could _sense_ these things. Someone was staring at them, and had been for a while. The feeling followed him the whole day, which meant someone had to be also. He tried not to spoil it. He didn't make a big deal, didn't want to alarm her. Especially since he never saw anyone.

But someone was watching, and he didn't like it. Every time he tried to make a move he could feel their gaze, and it freaked him out, honestly. It scared him. He wasn't too proud to admit it.

Well, not in front of Rose. But still.

So, he chickened out. And cursed himself the moment he pulled himself back, after he and Rose had closed their eyes and leant in, so close he could feel her breath on his and the tips of their noses touching and just thinking about it set his nerves on haywire.

This couldn't be healthy.

Rassilon, he didn't imagine falling in love could make him this out of control.

Scratch that. Ever since he met her she messed with his brain and he _loved every minute of it_.

She pulled him out of those thoughts by tugging on the edges of his jacket and looking at him with those pleading eyes, and he really was just putty in her hands. "Yes," he whispered. "Anything you want". He knows it's stupid and cheesy, but one look and he would do anything for her.

He'd cross mountains, change history, hell; he'd even burn up a sun.

She pulls him by the hand (where did she suddenly get this energy?) and before he knows it he's pulled onto her bed. She leaves him for a moment and his hand is instantly cold, but returns in pajamas a few minutes later.

He's sitting cross-legged on the bed, not sure really how to proceed. But this wasn't the way, if the frown on her face was anything to go by. "You're still dressed."

His eyes widened.

_Oh Rassilon…did she?_

"Take off your shoes and jacket." _Oh. That made more sense. Infinitely more disappointing, but much less surprising._ "Wait!" she cries as he's halfway off with his jacket. Rose walks over to the dresser and pulls out a pair of jimjams.

_Were those?…._

"Howards. From Christmas? Figured I'd bring them, just in case." She's wearing that special grin now, the one that makes him crazy, so he grabs them and sprints to the bathroom, changing as fast as he can. When he gets out she's already beneath the covers, curled in the middle of the bed.

Sneaky. There was no way he could get out of touching her now. But knowing that she wanted this made it a lot easier.

He pulls up the duvet and crawls in next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She instantly curls into embrace, which he in turn tightens. They're so at peace, like this, and he feels like this was always meant to be.

The Doctor and Rose.

In the TARDIS.

Forever.

XX

He wakes up the next morning full of resolution and a face full of hair. This startles him, for a moment, until he brushes it aside to see Rose curled up against him. He realizes he's gotten his arms entangled around her waist, and one of his legs is between hers. It's a strange positioning, but it feels so right.

Waking up with her in his arms every morning? He could get used to that.

But they did have to get up eventually. He had a big day planned. He was going to tell her no matter what, and no more stupid excuses. Nothing would go wrong today.

He brushes away some more of her hair and places a small kiss to the nape of her neck. "Rose?" She mumbles something incoherent. "Rose, darling," this time she stirs, and turns around in his arms to face him. She looks down at their positioning and gives a small smile.

"Hello", and he can't help but smile back at her.

"I've got an adventure planned for today." Her fingertips are on his cheek, brushing up and down the side of his face, and suddenly forming sentences is hard. The things this girl does to him….

"Yeah? What is it?" She so close now, and it would be so, so easy. Just to whisper those three words and kiss her. He leans in and he's barely an inch away when a loud noise makes them spring apart. Her mobile's blaring. The Doctor has to force himself not to let out a loud groan. Rose reaches over to grab it, groaning when she sees the name. "It's mum."

He nods. "Talk about it over tea?"

"See you in ten."

The cell phone incident wasn't really that bad. It worked out well, actually. Now he had some extra time to plan out the day, and gather his remaining courage. He walked to the kitchen and set about making tea.

The Doctor had just taken his first sip when Rose walked in looking rather frazzled. "Something wrong?"

Rose shook her head before reaching for her mug and taking a long sip. "No, it's just…she's mum. She's very…exhausting." He completely understands. He _had _met the woman, after all. "So, where are we going today?"

"It's a surprise!"

She quirks an eyebrow. "Am I going to like this surprise, or is this one of your great schemes to do stupid things that inevitably end badly?" He pouts. Does she really think he does that?

"Rose Tyler! I would never!"

"Really? What about the Great Banana Caper? We were being chased by monkeys, Doctor."

"That was one time!"

"Or the time we snuck into the converse factory and nearly got squished!"

"Okay, so maybe we could've just gone on the tour…."

"Or the time I told you not to try and make the console waterproof, but you went and did it anyways and burnt your eyebrows off?"

That was a bad one. Rose hadn't stopped laughing for a week! Thank Rassilon for fast-growing Time Lord genes.

"Alright, so maybe I have a track record for that. But I promise, this surprise is going to be great!"

XX

He kicks open the TARDIS doors with his foot. "We're almost there, Rose. I just need you to stay awake a little longer."

"But it hurts, Doctor." He looks down at the woman in his arms, gritting at the sight of fresh blood. He had hoped-_prayed_-that it stopped.

"I know it does, love, and I'm so, so sorry, but I promise, we're almost there. Just keep holding on, okay?" He's sprinting through the corridors now, sure that the Med Bay has never been this far away. He has to get there. The TARDIS lurches, like it's going into the Vortex, and it sends them sprawling on the ground. "What the bloody hell did you do that for?" he shouts at the ceiling. He tries to wake up Rose, but this was the last straw. She's out cold.

He pulls her into his arms again and races the rest of the distance, placing her onto a bed and hooking her up to machines as fast as he can. He's desperate now, hands shaking and everything's becoming a blur. He cleans up the wounds and stiches up as much as possible. Her shirt and jeans have been torn to shreds, so he cuts the rest of them off and covers her with a blanket. There's nothing to do now but wait.

She can't die on him.

Not now, not ever.

_He will not lose her_.

The worst part is, he never even got to tell her.

It started out as a normal day, on a normal, peaceful planet. But five minutes after walking out of the TARDIS he got the feeling from yesterday. Somebody, somewhere was watching him. He whirled around, looking for the source, but could see none. Then there was a muffled cry, and the next thing he knew, Rose was gone.

From there it was a mad rush into the TARDIS, where he got the Bio-Signature Tracer and used it to find Rose. She was in some kind of laboratory, completely knocked out. Much like the guards who tried to stop him.

There was a man in a lab coat hovering over her, and a surgeon marking out lines on her body.

He should've known. The planet was humanoid, but pure human? Very rare. There were always fanatics, and he was _so bloody stupid_. He brought her here, and let her get taken. He almost got her _killed_. Had he shown up a few minutes later, the pen lines most like would've been cuts.

Rose was _not_ some experiment.

He told this to the scientists, in full Oncoming Storm mode. It terrified them, but that wasn't enough. This wasn't a little warning. _They tried to kill Rose_.

He grabbed Rose, pulled open the nearest power panel, and set the whole place to blow.

The Doctor felt no remorse. They deserved this for what they had done.

What he hadn't counted on was getting attacked right after they escaped the building. Several guards appeared and pulled Rose from him, right before the explosion hit. She was far enough away that it didn't kill her, but she did sustain several injuries; and her head was hit hard.

The Doctor pulled her out of the rubble, hoping she would stay awake long enough to get her to the TARDIS. But she had slipped into a coma, and there was no telling when she would wake up again. He held her hand, drawing small circles. For a minute it felt strangely…squishy almost, but it went away as quickly as it came.

The worry was obviously messing with his head.

But she had to wake up. He wasn't going to lose her.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! If you review, either one of the Weasley twins (in honour of the fantastic news) shows up at your doorstep with cookies. Your choice.**


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